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THOMAS HEAZLE PAEKE. 



MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 



IN 



EQUATORIAL AFRICA 



MEDICAL OFFICER OF THE EMIN PASHA RELIEF EXPEDITION 



THOS. HEAZLE PAKKE, Hon. D.C.L. (Dueh.) 

BOX. FELLOW ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, IRELAND ; FELLOW ROTAL SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY j 

HON. MEMBER OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETIES OF BELGIUM AND ANTWERP; 

CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE TYNESIDE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY: 

HON. ASSOCIATE OF THE ORDER OF THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, ETC., ETC. ; 

ARMY MEDICAL STAFF. 



OBitlt JSan arvb mxmzxom Illustrations 




:«H> - 5 



NEW YOEK 

CHAELES SCKIBNEK'S SONS 

743-745 BROADWAY 

1891 

[All Eights Reserved] 



LONDON: 
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, Limited, 

STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. 









TO 

MY PAEENTS, 

MANY OF WHOSE MOST ANXIOUS HOURS 

HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED 

WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE DARK CONTINENT 
DIARY 

KEPT DURING MY WANDERINGS IN ITS MAZES 



PREFACE. 



The following pages contain the journal which I kept during 
the period of my connection with the Emin Pasha Belief 
Expedition. Being desirous to give my original impressions 
of persons and things, I have made no change whatever 
in the contents of my African note-books, excepting the 
necessary ones in the elementary departments of orthography 
and syntax. I have inserted, here and there, a few paragraphs 
containing my views on the principal diseases which I was 
called upon to treat. The remainder of the text I regard as 
supplementary, in some measure, to Mr. Stanley's volumes. 
Excepting 'Darkest Africa,' no other journal of the entire 
course of the expedition has been published, and no account 
of our experiences at Ipoto and Fort Boclo has hitherto seen 
the light in any shape. 

The pressure of professional duties has delayed the publica- 
tion longer than I could have wished : the history of the diary 
itself will, I trust, be, to the indulgent reader, some slight 
excuse for its many shortcomings in style and arrangement. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The greater part of my professional experience has been 
connected with the continent of Africa. My commission in 
the Army Medical Staff dates from February 5, 1881 ; and — 
having volunteered for active service in the Egyptian cam- 
paign — I left England in the September of the following year. 
I was first stationed at Alexandria, where the exigencies of 
warfare, and the calls of pressing professional duties, did not 
prevent me from receiving a great deal of hospitable kindness 
and attention from the foreign residents of that venerable 
metropolis. In addition to the necessarily large proportion of 
bullet wounds, and the other surgical injuries connected with 
the use of modern weapons of destruction, I had there a very 
large medical practice in the treatment of malarial fevers, 
gastro-intestinal inflammations, and fevers of a purely enteric 
(typhoid) type. 

In addition to the historical and classical associations con- 
nected with Alexandria, which will always tend to make it so 
attractive to the European visitor, the cosmopolitan character 
of the present population of the city makes it extremely 
interesting to the student of humanity. A large centre, in 
which the majority of the intelligent inhabitants speak at least 
half a dozen languages, affords peculiar facilities for the inter- 
change of ideas on most subjects of public and private interest. 
The former predominance of French influence is still largely 
reflected in the tone of polite society and the prevalence of 
the language ; and, undoubtedly, has conferred much liveliness 
and esprit on the members of the educated classes. This 
character contrasts forcibly with the sleepy, apathetic exist- 
ence of the great majority of the natives, who are under the 
continuous influence of hasheesh, and who appear too lazy to 
brush away the flies from the lids of the single eye with which 
so large a proportion of the population is provided. One of 



Vlll INTR OD UCTIOK 

the most dispiriting impressions which I received during the 
early days of my residence was that made by the information 
that this monocular character is artificially given to the 
(male) Egyptian visage in order to avoid the dreaded " con- 
scriirtion." 

The enormous preponderance of intestinal diseases of every 
class, which is so characteristic of medical practice in sub- 
tropical climates, was well exemplified in my Alexandrian — as 
indeed it was in the rest of my Egyptian — experience. Of the 
field-service which I saw during this earlier period, the most 
important event was the surrender of Kafir Dowar. After 
the Campaign of 1882 I received the Queen's medal, and also 
the Khedive's star. 

Of my duties in Egypt during the year 1883, the most 
important, by far, were those connected with the terrible out- 
break of cholera and its 50,000 victims. During the height 
of this fearful epidemic 600 natives died daily at Cairo alone. 
At this time — during the months of July and August — I was 
senior medical officer in the cholera camp at Hilouan, near 
Cairo, and the ravages of the disease were testified by the 
record that, of the total number of those struck down by the 
infection, a percentage of 29 ■ 03 only recovered. My recollec- 
tion of this period is also permanently associated with the 
fact that one of my dearest friends in Egypt, Surgeon C. B. 
Lewis, succumbed to an attack within a few hours of the 
development of the first symptoms. Another sad event which 
occurred at this time, and which made a deep impression on 
all who had been brought into contact with her, was the 
lamented death of Superintending Sister Jones. As this lady 
was driving from the camp to the hotel for luncheon, the 
horse bolted, the carriage overturned, and she was dashed 
violently to the ground. The base of the skull was extensively 
fractured, and death was instantaneous. 

Towards the end of 1883 I returned home, and was stationed 
at Dundalk (Ireland) till September 26, 1884, when I ex- 
changed, and volunteered again for active service, so as to join 
the Nile Expedition for the relief of General Gordon. I 
arrived in Egypt on the 7th of October, 1884, and left Cairo 
for the front on the 10th of the same month. In medical 
charge of the Naval Brigade, under Lord Charles Beresford, I 
crossed the Bayuda desert, was present at the battles of Abu 



INTE OD UCTION. IX 

Klea and Grubat, and the attack on Metainmeh. Of the 
deplorable consequences which followed the delay of the 
steamers at Metainmeh from January 21st until the 24th I do 
not wish to speak at any length, although it will always 
remain the central fact on which depended the sad events of 
the fall of Khartoum and the death of its hero, which have 
spread so dark a shade over that portion of contemporary 
British history. If even one steamer had been despatched to 
Khartoum on the 21st of January, 1885, I believe it would 
have been the means of saving the life of General Gordon. 

Gordon himself indicated, I believe with accurate judgment, 
what should have been done to save Khartoum and himself, 
when writing on the previous 14th of December : — " If some 
effort is not made before ten days, Khartoum will fall. All that 
is absolutely necessary is for fifty of the expeditionary force to 
get on board a steamer, and come up to Halfeyeh, and thus let 
their presence be felt. This is not asking too much, but it 
must happen at once, or it will (as usual) be too late." The 
event proved the prophetic foresight of the writer. The 
importance of hastening some portion of the force, at least, 
onwards to Khartoum without delay was evident enough then ; 
but it has struck me with new force every time that I have 
heard or read a new attack made on Mr. Stanley for hurry- 
ing forward with his advance column from Yambuya. The 
unflinching determination of our leader to sacrifice all minor 
considerations to the attainment of the one great object of our 
Expedition has, I think, been fully justified by the result 
obtained. 

Of the five officers (including myself) who crossed the Bayucla 
desert with Lord Charles Beresford : two were killed, one was 
severely wounded, Lord Beresford himself was slightly wounded 
in the hand ; I had the good fortune to be the only one who 
escaped without a scratch. At the close of the campaign I 
received two clasps (" Abuklea " and " The Nile "). 

After the retirement of our troops from Metainmeh I was in 
medical charge of the Guards — Camel Corps — for a few months ; 
and, at the end of this period, accompanied the Corps down to 
Alexandria, from which port we then prepared to return to 
England. We had actually got on board ; and, just as the 
vessel was moving off, I received orders to disembark, and 
return to duty at Alexandria. So I was obliged to have my 



X INTRODUCTION. 

few articles of baggage hastily brought back to land, and 
again resume duty on the African continent. 

I was now growing rather weary of my Egyptian experi- 
ences, and wishing for a change to some other region. Still, 
both the great cities of the land of the Pharaohs have very 
many social and other attractions, each in a peculiar line of 
its own. Some of the brightest hours of my life had been 
spent in Alexandria and Cairo. The general style of the latter 
city is more oriental. It is rich in " diplomatique " circles, 
abounds in consuls-general from (apparently) every part of the 
civilised world, and is becoming an important centre for tourists, 
as well as a health-resort for arthritic, pulmonary, and neuras- 
thenic patients. 

I had settled down once more into the social and sporting 
life of Alexandria, when the series of events commenced of 
which the details are given in the following pages. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN'. 

Meeting with Major Barttelot at Alexandria, who furnishes me with an 
introduction to Mr. Stanley — An unsuccessful call on the explorer 
— The Alexandrian Hunt Club— Interview with Mr. Stanley at 
Cairo — Indefinite leave of absence granted me by the authorities — 
The contract of engagement for the Emin Pasha Pielief Expedition 
— Preparations for the start — Farewell banquet at the Khedivial 
Club—My servant Mohammed — At Zagazis: I meet Mr. Stanley 
and Dr. Junker — Tel Basta — Suez — Introduction to my fellow- 
officers — Our Nubian soldiers — Amputation of Mohammed Doud's 
finger — Embarkation on the S.S. Oriental at Aden — The contin- 
gent of Somalis — Description of Aden — A case of small-pox — 
Vaccination of all the members of the Expedition — Temperature in 
the Indian Ocean — Gymnastics of the flying fish — Rules for the 
preservation of health in the Tropics — Bleached bones at Lamu — 
Mombasa — Arrival at Zanzibar — Dr. Hussey introduces me to the 
famous Tippu-Tib — Our Zanzibaris — We embark on the S.S. 
Madura — Free fight between the Soudanese and Zanzibaris — 
Mr. Stanley distributes the men among the officers — Tippu-Tib to 
be appointed Governor of "Stanley Falls" — Copy of " General 
Orders" issued by Mr. Stanley — The men's daily rations — My 
professional experiences on board the Madura — Small-pox in 
Africa .. 



CHAPTER II. 

FROM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLDVILLE, VIA BANANA POINT. 

Accident to one of Tippu-Tib's Zanzibaris — Our reception at Cape Town 
— Letter from Surgeon-General Faugh t — My sick patients on board 
ship — Conclusion of the work of vaccination; remarks thereon — 
Packing together my baggage and medicines for the march — Deaths 
from pneumonia and heat-apoplexy — We arrive at the mouth of 
the Congo — Zanzibari burial service — Banana Point Cemetery — 
The Congo River at Ponta da Lenha — Bonu — Camp at Mataddi — 
A recovery from brain concussion — Carelessness of the Zanzibaris 
as regards their invalids — Some cases of sunstroke — The start for 
Leopoldville — Crossing the Mposo River — Palaballa Mission Station 
— The march to Congo la Lemba — Fording the Bembezi River — 



PAGE 



Xll CONTENTS. 



Illness of Mr. Stanley — Kind entertainment at Banza-Manteka — I 
lose my waterproof coat in crossing the Kwilu River — Heavy rains 
— Delays caused through the straggling of the Zanzibari carriers — 
Mutinous attitude of our Nubians at Lukungu Station — Some 
rifles missing — Fever among the Somalis — We bridge the Npoko 
River — A provoking misadventure' — Major Barttelot and the Sou- 
danese — The African elephant — Arrival at Lutete Mission Station 
— Ivory caravans — A native market — By the aid of the steel-boat 
Advance we cross the Inkissi River — An unpleasant drenching, 
causing subsequent illness — We reach Leopoldville — Engagement 
of the Upper Congo River steamers — Visits and presents from local 
chiefs — Major Barttelot and I, with our companies, embark on the 
stern- wheeler Stanley — Chikwanga or native bread — Palavers with 
native chiefs in order to obtain guides — Incidents of the march to 
Mswata — We employ our time by cutting wood for the steamers 25 



CHAPTER III. 

THE BIVEE JOURNEY FROM MSWATA TO YAMBUYA. 

Arrival of the steamers at Mswata — Kwamouth Station — Tobacco 
cultivations — Elaborate hair-dressing of the men — Colour of the 
Kwa RiveT — Stalking game in the early morning — I shoot a hippo 
— The Stanley steamer — We reach Bolobo — My uncomfortable 
quarters on board the Henry Heed — Lukolela mission station — 
Illness of Jameson and Nelson — Zanzibari grievances — Profuse 
vegetation on the Upper Congo banks — The Mohammedan fast of 
Ramadan — Equator Station — The " Black River " — The natives of 
Uranga village — Entertainment at Bangala Station — Death of 
Fathel Mohammed — Our Somalis again ill — Orchids and monkeys 
in the forest — Hostile demonstration at Upoto — The rite of " blood 
brotherhood" — Stanley's epithet, "Bula Matari" — Upoto women 
— We enter the cannibal regions of the Upper Congo — Idols and 
ornaments of the natives — Collapse of the Stanley deck-houses — 
Grass fire adjoining our camp — The burnt village near Yalumbo — 
The Aruwimi River — Stanley's black boy, Baruti — Canoes at 
Basoko — Warlike attitude of the natives — Arrival at Yambuya, 
where we land by stratagem — The native huts — Baruti and others 
desert us, returning to Basoko — Our camp is placed in a state of 
defence — Mr. Stanley's future plans — Manioc fields at Yambuya — 
Major Barttelot arrives with the Henry Heed — Tippu-Tib's station 
at Stanley Falls — Cutting fire-wood for the steamers — Our fortified 
camp — Lieut. Stairs sick; anxiety regarding his condition — Pre- 
parations for the march to Lake Albert Nyanza . . . . . . 49 



CHAPTER IV. 

FEOM YAMBUYA TO AYISIBBA. 

The Advance Column — Order of marching through the forest — Good- 
bye to Barttelot and Jameson — Brush with hostile natives — We 
cut our way through the bush — The forest a conservatory of 
malaria — Major Barttelot's force at Yambuya camp — Wounds 
caused by poisoned spikes stuck in the ground — Tedious progress 



CONTENTS. XI 11 



through the forest — Zareeba enclosures for defence of our camps — 
Game pits and elephant tracks in the forest — The trees and their 
foliage — Annoying obstacles on the march — Capture of a goat — 
We launch the Advance and follow the course of the river — The 
natives and sanitation — Deserted villages — Ethnological curiosities 
of the district — Aruwimi Falls — An army of ants — My personal 
basgage — Different forms of native hut construction — A forsaken 
baby — Forest tornado — Nelson and Jephson down with fever — 
Further casualties through poisoned wooden spikes — Mr. Stanley 
takes observations — A man shot through the femoral artery — 
Fording swollen rivers — Hornets' nests suspended from the branches 
of trees — Scarcity of food — We meet some friendly natives — Con- 
tinuous rows with our cooks — A hard day's work with the advance 
guard — Abundance of game in the forest — Strange finds in the 
villages — Zanzibari method of cooking fowls — Ticks and "jiggers" 
— Fine features of the natives — Accident to our biscuits — Heavy 
rains — We buy food from the inhabitants of Mugwye's village — 
Elephants' tusks used for native seats — First quadruped meat for a 
month — Canoe accidents in the Aruwimi — Welcome capture of 
goats by Mr. Stanley — Panga Falls — Weak state of our men from 
ulcers — We forage for food — A dead man prepared for burial — 
African chickens — A Zanzibari shot near our camp — Sharp engage- 
ment vrith the natives at Avisibba — Lieutenant Stairs wounded 
by a poisoned arrow — My treatment of the wound . . .. . . 71 



CHAPTEE Y. 

FROM AVISIBBA TO UGARROWWA's CAMP. 

Lieut. Stairs' condition — Further heavy rains — Gigantic game-pits — 
Guided by a native we are led out of our way — Lost in the forest 
— Saat Tato to the rescue — Effect of the cold and wet weather on 
our Zanzibaris — We are attacked by natives — Results of foraging 
against orders — Some cases of tetanus among the men — Fire in a 
neighbouring village; anxiety regarding our baggage — A perfect 
ant-bed — I arrive at Stanley's camp — Medical inspection of the 
men — Meeting with the river column at the junction of theNepoko 
and Aruwimi — Our camp at the Falls — Amputation of Juma's foot 
— Depressing effect on the men of perpetual forest marching — Our 
donkeys — The last box of biscuits missing — Carrying the steel 
boat Advance around the cataract — My surgical dressings box — 
An Arab salute — We fall in with Ugarrowwa and his ivory hunters 
— Shocking scene in a village — Mr. Stanley develops symptoms 
of dysentery — Dangers of camping near malarious marsh or swamp 
— Numerous desertions of the men, taking with them their rifles 
and ammunition — Scarcity of food — Progress of our river flotilla — 
Tremendous downpour of rain — Another Arab encampment — State 
visit paid by Mr. Stanley to the Chief — Contrast between our men 
and the burly Arabs .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 93 

CHAPTER YI. 

FROM UGARROWWA'S TO IPOTO. 

We barter with the Arabs for food — Our sick are left in their charge — 
Ugarrowwa captures three deserters, of whom we make examples 



XIV CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



— Crossing the Lend a river — Devastated villages — Another big 
cataract — Mr. Stanley's dog Bandy and the guinea fowl — Grim 
starvation, grim despair have possession of us — Welcome discovery 
of some plantain trees — Providential escape of Lieut. Stairs from 
an elephant — Fair specimen of a Zanzibari fact — We buy rice from 
some passing Manyuema — The forest an utter wilderness — For- 
agers are sent back to the banana plantation — We traverse very 
rough ground— Wadi Khamis's canoe — On tie wrong track: our 
column returns to the Aruwimi — Junction of the Ituri and Ihuii 
rivers — Mr. Stanley holds a shauri — Kelson and the sick are left 
behind in camp — Unsuccessful efforts to find game or food — I have 
another attack of high lever — Cakes made of large brown beans — 
My faithful chief, Feruzi AH, wounded by savages — Our second 
starvation cam].- — Capture of a native woman — Kehani deserts, 
taking my clothes with him — Jephson arrives in camp with some 
Indian corn — The steel boat Advance — Critical state of Feruzi Ali 
— I approach the Adamite state of existence — We hold a lon-j; 
shauri — Accident to men while collecting mabunga iruit — Mr. 
Stanley shoots his donkey and distributts the flesh amongst us — 
Forest fruits our only means of sustenance — We disturb a hornets' 
nest — My boy steals some of my Indian corn — Arrival at the 
longed-for Arab village of Ipotc — Reception by the Manyuema .. 110 



CHAPTER VII. 

EXPEKIENCES WITH THE MANYUEMA AT IPOTO. 

We purchase food from the Arabs — Our men tormented by ticks — 
Vermin in the village huts — Punishment of Zanzibaris for stealing 
and breach of discipline — Uledi arrives with the Advance — Mr. 
Stanley makes arrangements for Captain Nelson's relief — Our 
future plans — The ivory hunters — Jejjhson and carriers start for 
Nelson's camp, while Stanley continues the march to Lake Albert 
— I am left at Ipoto with twenty-eight starved Zanzibaris — Letter 
regarding some deserters— My orders from Mr. Stanley — A welcome 
goat — Covetousness of the Manyuema-— My occupation of repairing 
rifles — Jephson and Nelson arrive in camp— Nelson a living skele- 
ton — We fail to obtain food from the wretched Arabs — Jephson 
decides to follow after Stanley — I write a letter to our leader 
explaining my position at Ipoto — Attempts to steal our goods — 
My hut is fired by the Arabs — Ismailia's pretended innocence 
about the fire — Further desertions and losses of rifles — Return of 
Chief Sangarameni from a raiding excursion — Our various methods 
of obtaining food — Visit to Sangarameni — Mohammedan customs 
— Chief Kb amis returns from a raiding expedition — We pay an 
official visit to the chiefs ; Mr. Stanley's agreement with them 
regarding food not carried out — Ivory and slave trade in Africa — 
Pest of disagreeable insects — Illness of Chief Khamisi — Starvation 
among our men — We are refused ground for planting corn and 
beans — Chief Ismailia returns with his banditti — My lield-glasses 
are exchanged for food — Attempted theft of a box of ammunition 
— The chiefs still starve us — Nelson's shocking condition — Ismailia 
accepts my suggestion that we should all be " friends " .. .. 125 



CONTENTS. XV 

CHAPTER VIII. 

FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IPOTO. 

PAGE 

The Manyuema hear false news regarding three guides supplied to Mr. 
Stanley, whereby our lives are endangered — Letters to hand from 
Stanley and Jephson — Tactics of the chiefs — Troublesome vermin 
— My birthday — A substantial feast — " Wake " in memory of the 
three lost guides — Having no food, Nelson and I finish the re- 
mainder of the quinine and orange wine — Marked change in our 
appearance and general behaviour — Evening visits of the Manyuema 
to our tents — We hold a shauri with the chiefs regarding food 
supply— Theft of blankets and sleeping things from our tents — 
Punishment of the Zanzibari thieves — -We open Emin Pasha's 
bales, and exchange the soiled goods for food — My medical fees 
paid in small food supplies — Sudden generosity of the chiefs — 
Nelson very feverish — Forest game and Arab crops — My boy 
Sherif steals some cartridges — Construction of a new village by 
the chief — Description of the huts — I am laid up with erysipelas — 
Dreadful condition of Nelson — Loss of our milch goat — Nelson 
operates on me — An offer of goats in return for rifles declined by 
us — Preparing food for Christmas — Arrival of Kilonga Longa's 
advance guard — My tent is besieged by an army of ants — Improve- 
ment in my condition — Dish made from pounded ants — Ismailia's 
philanthropic suggestion — Christmas Day spent in bed — Only 
eleven of our Zanzibaris alive — The comic side of our position — 
Khamisi comes to me to be doctored — Difficulty in milking our 
goat — Growth of our corn and beans — The chiefs still refuse us 
food — Kilonga Longa's arrival delayed .. .. .. .. 144 



CHAPTER IX. 

A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 

The village of Ipoto — Condition of Nelson and myself — We talk about 
the causation of disease — Our slumbers are disturbed by visions of 
disease — Generators — Account of some of the disease-producing 
agents — Leeuwenhoek's work entitled '' Arcana Naturae Detecta " — 
The discovery of microbes — MiiLler's investigations — The old term 
animalcula3 — The Bacillus anthracis found by Davaine — Recent 
progress of bacteriology — The doctrine of Biogenesis — The amceba 
— The human ovum — Bacteria — Theory of Beauchamp, the French 
scientist — Shapes and dimensions of microbes — Theory of the bac- 
terial origin of disease — M. Miquel's calculations regarding bacteria 
— M. Pasteur and microbe cultivation — Active mobility of bacteria 
— Reproduction of the bacterium — Appearance of bacteria in the 
fluids and tissues of the human body — Professor Koch and diseases 
of bacterial origin — Bacteria and the tissues of the animal organism — 
Phagocytes and leucocytes — The " attenuation of the virus " — 
Professor Toussaint and protective inoculation — Forms and colours 
of microbes — Piebald state of our bodies — Fresh eggs not laid in 
Africa — Theft by my boy Sherif — A suitable place for a missionary 
station — Arrival of Kilonga Longa and his caravan — Also some of 
our missing Zanzibaris — A nocturnal thief — Capture and punishment 
of Camaroni — Kilonga Longa and other chiefs pay us a state visit 



XVI CONTENTS. 



— Discussing Mr. Stanley's agreement regarding food-supply — 
Nelson and I are driven into a state of temporary insanity by the 
itching — Heavy rains and their effect — Lack of goodnature among 
the Manyuema and our Zanzibaris — My poor donkey in trouble — 
Another column of ants — A Manyuema medicine-man — The 
Zanzibaris apply to Kilonga Longa for food — Massage — A slave 
set on by his comrades and eaten — Arab customs practised by 
the Manyuema .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 160 



CHAPTER X. 

FKOM FOET BODO TO THE ALBERT NYANZA. 

Welcome relief by Lieutenant Stairs from our miserable existence at 
Ipoto — We part from Kilonga Longa and the Manyuema on the 
best terms — Incidents of the march to Fort Bodo — Scenery viewed 
from Kilimani — Nelson still very weak — Our reception by Mr. 
Stanley — Description of Fort Bodo — The men are employed road 
making — Arrival of the Advance — Stairs proceeds to Ugarrowwa's 
station to bring up the invalids — Mr. Stanley is taken very ill with 
sub-acute gastritis, engrossing all my attention — The castor 
oil tree — Method of preparing castor oil by the natives and Zanzi- 
baris — My method of preparing the same — Progress of my patient 
— Seven Zanzibaris come in from Ipoto — Mr. Stanley continues to 
improve — List of nutritive medical comforts carried with us from 
Yambuya — We leave Fort Bodo en route for the Albert Nyanza, 
while Nelson and the invalids are left behind — My experiences of 
ulcers during the march through the equatorial forest — Hostile 
attitude of the natives — Ferrying the column across the Ituri River 
— Emerging from the forest, thus ending my twelve months of 
forest existence — Native tobacco — Fetteh, our interpreter, wounded 
— The natives attack us — Their way of passing the alarm from 
village to village — Peace arranged — First news of Emin Pasha or 
Malleju — Visit from Mazamboni, the chief of the district — Jephson 
goes through the rite of " blood brotherhood " with Mazamboni — 
We are mistaken for Wara-Sura, so explaining our hostile reception 
by the natives . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 190 



CHAPTER XI. 

MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 

Our newly-made friends, the Wahuma and Bavira tribes — Emin's letter 
to Mr. Stanley — A scrap of" The Times" dated April 27, 1886— 
Kabba Rega's treatment of Captain Casati — Arrival at Chief 
Kavalli's residence — Cattle pestered by birds — Comparison of the 
Wahuma herdsmen and the Bavira hoemen— We sight a snow- 
capped mountain — Plague of mosquitoes — Launch of the Advance 
on Lake Albert — Jephson embarks in her and goes in search of 
Emin Pasha — Abundance of game on the Lake shores — Weapons 
and musical instruments of the natives of the plains — Industry 
and ingeuuity of the Manyuema — Professional rain-makers — Our 
camp at Bundi — Emin's steamers sighted — Jephson and I escort 
the Pasha to the camp — Excitement of the Zanzibaris — Meeting 
between Stanley and Emin — Dress and appearance of Emin and 



CONTENTS. xvil 



his soldiers — Numerous cases of entozoa — The Pasha doubtful as to 
leaving his province — He presents me with some slippers and cotton 
cloth — Prevalence of fever at our new camp — Mabruki gored by a 
buffalo — Eumours regarding Kabba Eega — Daring kites — Jephson 
to accompany Emin to his province and read the Khedive's orders 
— I give a ' thought-reading ' entertainment to Emin's people — 
Mimosa bush plantations — The Pasha's lack of authority over his 
officers and men — Nubiambari, a Zanzibari, missing — Unsuccessful 
attempt to find him, and subsequent brush with the natives — The 
steamers Khedive and Nyanza — The etiology of malarial fever — 
Further presents from the Pasha — Stanley and I start to bring up 
the rear column from Yambuya — Desertion of our Mahdi porters — 
Emin sends us other carriers — We camp at Kavalli's — Dancing in 
Africa — We assist Mazamboni in a tribal feud — Eetreat of the 
enemy on our apprach — The victory celebrated by a war-dance — 
Food supplies from Mazamboni — Condition of Fetteh, our inter- 
preter — A further instance of African love and devotion — We ford 
the Ituri Eiver — Arrival at Fort Bodo — Sickness in the Fort — The 
last day of the Eammadan — Preparations for the forest march to 
Yambuya .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 215 



CHAPTER XII. 

LIFE AT FOET BODO. 

I accompany Mr. Stanley to Ipoto — The Mahdi men suffer from " guinea- 
worms" — My second meeting with Kilonga Longa — Mr. Stanley 
complains of the bad treatment of our Zanzibaris — We hold an 
important shauri with the chiefs respecting Mr. Stanley's agreement 
— Shocking state of the Manyuema slaves — Final arrangements 
with the Manyuema — Mr. Stanley's entry in my note-book regard- 
ing the rear column, and future instructions — Incidents of the 
return journey to Fort Bodo with the loads from Ipoto — Scarcity 
of food at Kilimani — Arrival at the Fort — Nelson and myself are 
laid up with fever — I hold a post-mortem examination on the 
body of Saadi Baluzi, who had previously been wounded by a 
poisoned arrow — A great scare in the Fort — Our agricultural 
pursuits — Police duty in the plantations — Thefts by dwarfs of our 
bananas — Villages of the dwarfs — Their cunning — Discontent and 
insurbordination in the camp — Troublesome ants — Destruction and 
theft in our plantations by elephants — Nelson and Stairs down 
with fever — Natives in our tobacco plantation — Our Zanzibaris are 
useless sentries — Food getting scarce — Terrible sickness in the 
camp — Filthy habits of the Zanzibaris — The circumcision of Kibori 
— Destruction of our boots and clothes by rats — Our men laid up 
with ulcers — Return of my old complaints, erysipelas and African 
fever — List of the sick in camp with their respective diseases — Our 
Zanzibaris are great schemers and malingerers — I arrange Nelson's 
and Stairs' medicine chests — Further plundering from our tobacco 
plot — My boy Muftah a terrible liar — I am laid up with inflamma- 
tion of the lymphatics — Death of Hanamri — We kill our last sheep 
— Anxiety for the Pasha and Jcphson's arrival — Effects of a violent 
tornado — Death of Khamis Faragi — Zanzibari custom regarding 
their sick .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 240 

b 



XV111 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

LIFE AT FOKT BODO. 

PAGE 

Anxiety of the men to get back to the plains — Ali Jumba's proposals — 
We hold a council, and agree that to evacuate the fort would be 
fatal — The mischief-making clique of Zanzibaris — Recent events do 
not improve our powers of mutual forbearance — Scarcity of idols in 
Central Africa — Ninety-nine per cent, of our Zanzibaris have had 
ulcers — Mohammed A. and Nubian boy lost in the forest whilst 
foraging — Their probable fate — Porridge made from bananas — List 
of European provisions for the officers of the Expedition taken from 
Yambuya — Unsuccessful food expeditions — My boy captures some 
fish : flat worms in the same — Sufferings of the Mahdi men from 
" guinea- worms " : their description and growth — Annoyance of 
rats at night-time — The men's latrine at the Fort — Garden plots — 
The first pumpkin of our own grow 7 th — The ascaris lumbrico'ides — 
Result of our want of exercise — Nelson, Stairs and myself down 
with fever and its accompanying ailments — Our beautiful white 
teeth due to the lack of albuminous food — A Zanzibar! tooth-brush 
— Thoughts of home — Stairs ill with an anthracoid sore — Hopes for 
Stanley's early arrival — Our boys capture a snake — Respective 
weights of Nelson, Stairs and myself compared with former records 
— Damage by elephants to our plantation — Cooking utensils of the 
natives — My little pigmy woman pays great attention to me — We 
enjoy the night air — Condition of the crops.. .. .. .. 265 

CHAPTER XIV. 

LIFE AT FORT BODO. 

No signs of Emin and Jephson's arrival — One of our donkeys killed for 
food — Ferragi puts cayenne pepper into his eyes in order to avoid 
WO rk — Sudden death of Msongazi following a wound by a poisoned 
arrow — Remarks regarding his wound — My donkey is killed — I 
am down with fever — Hamis Pari's abscess — The right place to 
enable one to appreciate the value of home comforts — A splendid 
soil for bacteria hunting — Lack of European provisions for over 
twelve months — Misunderstanding between Nelson and Stairs — I 
change my house — My boy Muftah's salary — Method of catching 
fish : peculiar worms in the same — Indistinct vision, one of the 
results of fever — Further plots of the men to get to Lake Albert 
— Stairs is also laid up with fever — Ingratitude of our Zanzibaris 
— Summary of the food supplied to Nelson and myself at Ipoto 
by the Manyuema — Nelson a genuine good-natured fellow — Our 
experience of the "Dark Continent" — Twenty days of bilious 
remittent fever — We talk about our position — Stairs a great favour- 
ite with the men — Bad marksmanship of the Zanzibaris — Our corn 
cr0 p — A sixth variety of " potato " — We plant corn in our newly- 
prepared ground — Nelson's seedy condition — I decide to remove the 
arrow-head from Stairs' chest .. .. .. .. . 279 

CHAPTER XV. 

LIFE AT FORT BODO. 

Successful operation on Lieutenant Stairs — Removal of the arrow head 
Ruchard's division of wounds complicated by the introduction of 



CONTENTS. XIX 

PAGE 

toxic substances — Poisoned wounds one of the terrors of warfare — ■ 
The efficacy of vegetable arrow-poisons questioned by some of the 
earlier apostles of modern surgery — My experience of arrow-poisons 
— Native dogs — Jephson's delay unaccountable — Stairs progresses 
favourably towards recovery — Our process of shaving — Stairs' notes 
on Mr. Stanley's first arrival at the Lake — Capture of two young 
crocodiles — Another poor corn crop — W e send some ' benevolent ' 
messengers to gather bananas — Distribution of corn among the 
men — Welcome additions to our larder — I apply pure carbolic acid 
to the surface of sloughing ulcers — My pigmy woman collects with 
me the necessary plants for making arrow-poison — Superstition in 
Africa regarding the construction of a small hut — Approximate 
ages of the white members, &c, of the Expedition — Process of 
pounding and preparing our corn — My Monbuttu pigmy mixes a 
specimen of arrow-poison — I manufacture a gridiron for cooking 
purposes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 293 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE ARROW-POISON OF THE PIGMIES. 

My first African essay in amateur vivisection — Effect of the arrow- 
poison on Lieutenant Stairs' dog — Method of burial among the 
natives — Anniversary of my birthday — Report on the arrow-poison 
of the pigmies read before the Pharmaceutical Society of Great 
Britain : Part I. Description of the material ; (a) The poison ; 
(b) Preparation of the poison ; (c) The antidote. Part II. Identi- 
fication of the material by E. M. Holmes, F.L.S. — Some of the 
results of our farming at Fort Bodo tabulated — Mischief by 
elephants in our banana plantation — Ali Jumba's reply to our 
cross-examination about the same — Elementary nature of our diet 
— A native camp discovered in the plantation — Porridge flour 
made from bananas — We cut down our rice crop — Great quantities 
of locusts — An elephant's gymnastic feat — Wives of the Wambuttu 
and Wasongora .. .. .. .-. .. .. ., 304 



CHAPTER XVII. 

LIFE AT FORT BODO. 

Traps for catching ants — Condiment made of mixed and pressed ants — 
My boy Muftah plays further tricks on me — Native method of 
catching fish in the river — Narcotic effect exercised on the fish by 
a plant — A substitute for table salt obtained from the Pistia Stra- 
tiotes — Muftah runs away from me for the third time — His submis- 
sive return — Weight of Nelson, Stairs, and myself — A Zanzibari 
game resembling draughts — We cut our rice crop — Preparing the 
rice grain — We divide a quantity of unhusked rice — The continued 
drought detrimental to our crops — By a simple device Stairs finds 
the true north and also ascertains the time of day — Stairs and my- 
self down with fever — No excuse for Emin Pasha's non-appearance 
— Elephants plunclerour banana plantation — We manufacture fairly 
serviceable boots for ourselves, after the fashion of Veldtschoons — 
Operation of removing a guinea- worm from one of the Mahdi men — 



XX CONTENTS. 



PAQl 



Damage by rata A welcome downpour of rain— Nelson treats us 
to some |ioiiil)i, or banana wine— The soldiers of Equatoria — Hopes 
for Mr. Stanley's return- The colour of our corn — We have a 
greater variety of food Dining d la carte .. .. .. .. 324 



CHAPTEB XVIII. 

ABBIVAL OF Tin: i:i:ai; COLUMB at i<>rt BODO. 

Mr. Stanley up to date in his marches— -He arrives with the rear 
column — His careworn and ragged appearance— The melancholy 
history afthe rear column— Shocking condition of the men witn 
ulcers A terrible period of starvation experienced by them a fev 
miles from the Fori Bonny is sent back for some loads — Nelson, 
Stairs, and myself, discuss the story of the wreck of the rear 
column After burying a large glass bottle Nelson and Bonny de- 
i roy the Fort Commencement of our 1 bird march to Lake Albert 
Mr. Stanley makes me a timely present of Borne blue serge — Our 
Christmas dinner Accident to my bos of clothes at Banalya — Dis- 
tribution of European provisions among the officers Loss '>(' Zanzi- 
baris during the forest march from arrow-wounds— Nelson the best 
cook of the Expedition- Letters brought me by Bonny from 
STambuya The porterage oi our tente and < -i I mm- baggage — Mr. 

Stanley and I remodel our tents -Two victims to the horrors of 

starvation- Bonny rather reserved about the rear column business 
— My New Fear wishes Review of the past eventful year — A 
Nubian wounded by native* Difficull task of removing six iron- 
headed arious from his body — Some Zanzibar] characteristics — 
Our wounded Nubian doing well — Dreadful smell from the huge 

gangrenous ulcers Manyuema women : their dress and extremely 

hands e appearance— Another instance of " African affection " — 

Wo camp al bands' Stanley's Starvation damp— Arrival at Mount 

I'i. eat \\'e halt at rXandekore* 



CHAPTER XIX. 
OUH SICK CAMP AT cakdbeob£, 

We form :i "( onvalescent Home" for the sick at rXandekore*on the borders 
of the plain— Mr. Stanley lectures Stairs and myself about the 
men's condition- Commencement of the third march to Lake Albert 
— The surroundings of our hospital We build new huts — The Zan- 
zibaris recognize the value ofproper radical treatment -The invalids 
come to me for their medicine -Failure of Uledi to find the sick 
who bad been left, on the road Completion of our huts — Effeot of 
recurring aocturnal chills— We kill boi for the invalids' 

benefit— Sat isfactorj progress of the sick- Native forms of treal ing 
ulcers employed by our Zanzibaris— A primitive form oi in<issfi(/r 
used for aching limbs -Scarification employed for headache and 
synovitis Demoralizing effect of sickness on the men— An attack 
of bilious remittent fever prevents my ai tent ion to professional 

duties Spread of disease caused h\ llies Death of Mohammed 

Dean from rapid gangrene of the fool —Another instance of Zanzi- 
bar] M truthfulness " — I recover from my fever attack The last of 



CONTENTS. XXI 

PAGE 

my chloroform — Theft of goats by a Zanzibari boy — Some cases of 
gastro -intestinal catarrh, the result of prolonged exposure to all 
weathers — My African experience of this latter complaint, also of 
cholera in the Egyptian Soudan — Burroughs & Welcome's tabloids, 
a convenient medicine — The tabloid system should be adopted on 
service abroad and at home by the Army Medical Staff — A death 
from dysenterv — Mortality at our camp since Mr. Stanley's depar- 
ture ' .. .. 340 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE STORY OF THE REAR COLUMN. 

Lieutenant Stairs tries the Maxim machine gun — Jamming of a Gar- 
diner gun at the battle of Abu Klea — Usefulness of our Win- 
chesters, compared to other rifles — Memoranda of the events which 
occurred at Yambuya as obtained by me from Mr. Bonny — The 
Major makes repeated journeys to Stanley Falls — Tippu-Tib's pro- 
mised supply of carriers — The remnant of the rear column found by 
Mr. Stanley at Banalya — Unnecessary delay of the rear column in 
following the steps of the advance column — The march to Banalya 
— Barttelot shot dead by a Manyuema — Jameson goes down the 
Congo to Bangala — Bonny left in sole command — My comment on 
the foregoing memoranda — A feverish locality — The most powerful 
enemy in Africa — A foraging party disobeys orders — I exchange a 
pair of shoes for a coat — Filthy condition of our Manyuema — Ants 
are good scavengers, but otherwise a terrible annoyance — Numerical 
strength of the Expedition : the rear column almost exterminated 
— Our total loss of men — Native trick of catching small fish — 
Progress of our sick — A native dwarf scared by a leopard — 
Foraging expeditions for goats and fowls — Arrival of Chief Rashid 
and men. to escort us to the Lake — Mr. Stanley receives letters 
from Jephson and Emin Pasha — Their imprisonment at Dufile — 
Ptebellion in the Equatorial Province — Dance by Chief Katto and 
his men — We quit our camp at Kandekore and arrive at a village 
on the plains — Eeception at Mazamboni's — Description of the 
village and its surroundings — Kabba Eega's raids on the Wazam- 
boni — Familiarity of the people — The cattle of the plains — We 
camp at Mpinga's village .. .. .. .. .. .. 359 



CHAPTER XXI. 

LIFE AT KAVALLI CAMP. 

Meeting with Emin Pasha and his officers at Kavalli's — Ferida, the 
Pasha's daughter — Chief Kavalli's handsome appearance — The 
Wahuma are the finest people we have seen in Africa — Their dogs 
of the pariah type — Their liking for bangles and other ornaments — 
Bonny brings false news of the capture of Katonza's village by 
Kabba Hega — Enormous baggage of Emin's followers — Physique 
and appearance of his officers — Mrima commits suicide in his hut 
from despondency — Our water reservoirs in case of fire — We 
have our suspicions of treachery among Emin's people in the camp 
— The roll-call — Successful raid against a hostile chief — I dine 
with Emin Pasha — An epidemic of diarrhoea — Nelson and others 



XX11 CONTENTS. 



ill with fever — The Zanzibaris wash themselves in local still- 
pocls — Mr. Stanley ascertains the altitude of our camp — Fever 
more prevalent here than in the damp forest — Useless baggage — A 
case of typhoid fever — Deaths at Yambuya mainly attributed to the 
injudicious use of manioc — The two kinds of manioc in African 
regions — Illness of Mr. Stanley — I escort a party of earners to 
Emin's Lake Shore Camp — Thorny mimosa bushes — The return 
journey with baggage — Sensitiveness of the Pasha regarding his 
people — Eefusal of the men to fetch any more baggage from the 
Lake — Mr. Stanley calls a parade and makes examples of the ring- 
leaders of the mutiny — Emin's early experiences at Constantinople 
— His Excellency cannot make up his mind as to leaving Equa- 
toria — Sickness caused through drinking stagnant water — My 
experiences of the quality and quantity or water in Equatorial 
Africa — Division of water-supply into current and stationary 
waters — Eain-water as a drink to be used with caution — The qua- 
lities and components of the waters of streams and rivers — Modifica- 
tion of climate in the neighbourhood of large rivers — Impurity of 
streams with slow currents — Stagnant waters of pools and marshes 
have special opportunities of developing impurities — Hassan Bakari 
attempts to shoot himself — Improvement in all our conditions — 
Audacity of kites — Wooden disc inserted in the upper lips of the 
native women — The Pasha a very keen collector — The manufacture 
of " poteen "-like spirit by his people — Applications to me for advice 
and medicine — Irritating delay : April 10 fixed for starting to the 
Coast — Capture of cattle belonging to a hostile tribe — Coffee and 
cigarettes with the Pasha — Some eccentricities of General Gordon 
related by him — I remove another arrow-head from Fathel Mullah 
— People with enlarged spleens fever-proof in Africa .. .. 373 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

PREPARATIONS FOR THE RETURN JOURNEY TO ZANZIBAR. 

steamer arrives from Mswa Station with some of Emin's people — 
Letter from the rebel officers — Our discussion of the same — We 
decide to wait until April 10 for Emin's people — Treachery sus- 
pected in the camp — Emin's clerks are almost all bad characters — 
Some newcomers arrive at Mazamboni's — Mr. Stanley's proposal to 
Emin Pasha regarding the Congo Free State — Emin presents me 
with a box of medicine — We obtain another sight of the great snow 
mountain which directly contradicts Herodotus' view — The Mon- 
buttu tribe inoculate with the virus of syphilis — Stairs makes the 
first move homewards with some loads — Arranging the loads among 
the men — Bark cloth suspended from the belts of the Wahumaand 
representing tails — Haunts and habits of the dwarfs — Their different 
ways of catching game — An elephant trap — Cannibalism not prac- 
tised by the dwarfs — Emin Pasha and myself take careful measure- 
ments of the various dimensions of four specimens of the pigmies — 
Mr. Stanley acts as mediator between Mohammed Effendi and his 
wife — Circumcision practised by the Monbuttu tribe — Syphilis in 
the Pasha's Province — His men suffer from enlarged spleens — 
Length of an Arab wedding festival — Xelson and I arrange with 
the Pasha for a cook — My experience regarding a cook with the 
Guards' Camel Corps — Our dwarfs since leaving the forest are 
gradually pining away — Attempt of the Pasha's people to steal 



CONTENTS. XXlll 



some Zanzibari rifles — Mr. Stanley sounds a general muster and 
addresses the men — His reasons for so doing — I compare his version 
of the incident with that of the Pasha's — Circumstances render 
Emin's return to the Province impossible — Total number of Emin's 
people : also loads — Dance by Wahuma women outside Mr. Stanley's 
tent — Contest between Omar, the Nubian chief, and five Zanzibaris 
— We institute some athletic sports .. .. .. .. .. 392 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

TREASON AMONG EMIN'S PEOPLE. 

We commence our journey to the coast — Nelson sets fire to the huts — 
Perfume of my Monbuttu woman — -Failure of native carriers to 
perform their contract — We obtain fresh carriers — Laziness of 
Emin's people — Shukri Agha, commandant of Mswa Station over- 
takes us — Hari, my factotum — Lack of hair on the faces of natives 
— Mr. Stanley ill for the second time with a violent attack of inter- 
mittent fever — My anxiety about him — The Pasha assists in the 
treatment of my patient — My supply of morphine tabloids almost 
exhausted — Method of making bread by Emin's people — Nelson an 
excellent cook — Mr. Stanley's condition and diet — I am laid up 
with bilious remittent fever — Our leader suffers a relapse — Illness 
of all the white officers of the expedition owing to bad camping- 
ground — We change our camp — Emin assists me in my professional 
duties — Stairs and some men forage for food — Mazamboni's stingi- 
ness — Recovery of Mr. Stanley — Heavy rains — Weights of Stanley, 
Nelson, and myself — A native gives us some information regard- 
ing Ru wenzori — I manufacture some candles — Annoyance by 
hyasnas — Capture of Rehan and other deserters from the Pasha's 
camp — We hold a board of inquiry into Rehan's case, and find him 
guilty — Execution of Rehan — Distribution of rifles and ammuni- 
tion to the men — Letter from Selim Bey at Tunguru — Discussion of 
the same — AVe intercept letters from the Pasha's people to the 
rebel officers in Equatoria .. .. .. .. .. .. 408 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

FROM MAZAMBONI'S -TO THE ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 

Our departure from Mazamboni's — Mr. Stanley much improved in 
health — We bury some surplus Remington ammunition — Ibrahim 
Effendi and other Egyptians return to Equatoria — Some further 
desertions — Jephson seriously ill with fever — Dispersion of a party 
of Kabba Rega's raiders — Their tower-muskets — The extremity 
of Lake Albert and junction of the Semliki River — Scarcity of 
natives through continual raids by the Manyuema and Wara-Sura 
— " The Mountains of the Moon " — Our column on the march is 
an imposing sight — Mr. Stanley and Lieut. Stairs join my fever 
patients — Saat Tato captures a canoe, by the aid of which we cross 
the Semliki River — Hostile attitude of the natives — I go through 
the rite of blood brotherhood with Chief Bakamuggar — Condition 
of the sick officers — The Wara-Sura attack us while transporting 
the expedition across the Semliki — Heavy rains — Death of two of 
our Manyuema — Enormous banana plantations -Pombe made from 



XXIV CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



bananas — We obtain a beautiful view of the snow-clad peaks of 
the Euwenzori range — I study botany with the Pasha — Encounter 
with a party of Kilonga Lonsa's Manyuema — Stairs' boy killed and 
some Zanzibar! s wounded — My treatment of four of the latter — 
The Manyuema recognise their mistake too late — Slow progress of 
our column — Jephson's condition causes me great anxiety — Lieut. 
Stairs' ascent of Euwenzori — I am laid up with African fever — 
More tricks by my boy Muftah — The Pasha and Mr. Stanley 
fall out — First sight of the Albert Edward Nyanza — The Salt 
Lake of Mkiyo — Slabs of saline deposit at the bottom of the Lake 
— Dimensions of the Salt Lake — Colour of its waters — Our encamp- 
ment at Katwe' — Analysis by Sir Charles Cameron of Dublin, of 
a specimen of the Salt Lake water — We enter the territory of Uny- 
ampaka — Cattle raid by the Wara-Sura on Irangara Island — The 
first attempt at dl fresco painting seen by me in Africa — The 
'Toro' hills — Kabba Eega's bodyguard, called Wara-Sura, at- 
tack us, but are put to flight — We come upon two of their deserted 
camps — Our Wahuma guides leave us — The shores of the Albert 
Edward Nyanza are extremely malarious, and the water undrink- 
able — Many cases of fever in the cam];) — My pigmy woman is a 
useful nurse — Our march through the Toro district — Fever cases 
still on the increase — We enter the country of Ankori . . . . 422 



CHAPTEE XXY. 

THE MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AKD KARAGWE. 

Decision as to our future route — Friendly assistance rendered by the 
natives in carrying loads — We wait King Antari's pleasure at a 
small village — Loss of some of my clothes — Native customs — 
Presents of goacs and guides from King Antari — Several members of 
the expedition prostrate with fever — Symptoms of an attack of 
fever — Some pupils of the late Mr. Mackay of the Church Mis- 
sionary Society visit us — Their information regarding the latest 
events in L T ganda — The cause of African fever — A few of the 
Pasha's people drop out of the caravan through sickness — The 
detestable " yellow-bellies " — Our progress obstructed by a large 
papyrus quagmire — Carelessness of the Zanzibaris with their rifles — 
Immunity of our men from sunstroke — We experience sharp alter- 
nations of temperature — Large herds of cattle — Stinginess of the 
natives — Another case of sunstroke — Theft of rifles by the natives 
— Fever among the white officers — Visit from the young Prince of 
Ankori — Ophthalmia among our men — Native coffee — Bonny's 
condition — We transport the caravan across the Alexandra Nile — 
Murder of a Manyuema woman — Description of the Hot Springs 
at Mtagata — I take a thermal bath — Death of one of Kibbo- 
bora's wives — My opinion of Manyuema men and women — I am 
obliged to leave my pigmy woman with some friendly natives — 
Her parting casts a gloom over the camp — The deserted settle- 
ment of KafuiTO — Visit from one of Speke and Grant's men — 
Message from the boy king of Karagwe — Jephson pays his 
respects to the latter — Bargain making with the king — Karagwe 
an uninteresting country — The coldest day experienced by me in 
Africa — After a rough march, we arrive at Lake Urigi .. .. 449 



CONTENTS. XXV 

CHAPTER XXYJ. 

MR. MACKAY'S MISSION STATION AT USAMBIEO. 

PAGE 

Unprovoked attack on the natives "by some of our worst characters — 
Fathel Mullah, a Nubian, is handed over to ihe natives for punish- 
ment — The march to Ruanda — Present from ihe old chief in return 
for proiessional advice — Our first glimpse of the Victoria Nyanza — 
Delay caused hy non-appearance of promised guides — Sorcery 
among the natives — We camp on the shores of Lake Victoria — 
Charmed lives possessed by the Europeans of the Expedition — 
We enter the King of Usui's dominion — Eemains of a dead zebra — 
Flight of natives from their huts while passing through Usambiro's 
countiy — Quantities of honey — A strange custom of King Mi- 
ran") bo's — Local rumours — Perpetual inter-tribal animosity — Lack 
of good drinking-water — The French Missionary Station at 
Bukumbi — Hearty reception by Mr. Mackay at Usambirc — De- 
scription of the Mission Station — Mr. Mackay a wonderful mechanic 
— Welcome news and letters — The Germans and Zanzibai — My 
experiences of malarial fever from the Euwtnzori range to the 
Coast — The symptoms and progress of an attack of iever — Miss 
Berkeley's experiences of African fever among missionaries — At 
all altitudes we suffered with fever — Administiation of quinine ior 
feven — Ko cases of the haemorrhagic foim of malarial lever — Mr. 
Mackay kindly replenishes my stock of medicines and provides 
other necessary articles for our use — English missionaries in 
Equatorial Alrica aiemuch handicapped — -An attack of ophthalmia 
prevents me from finishing my regular diary — Chances of survival 
of the white man in Africa — The principal varieties of AJrican 
produce on which we subsisted — Plantains and bananas — Potatoes 
— Meat and fish- — Insects and reptiles— Cereals — Manioc — Cassava 
— Forest beans and fruits — European provisions — Mboga — Mohoga 
and other leaves on which we subsisted — Patience and forbearance 
of the Zanzibaris during their trials of starvation — My Zanzibari 
chief, " Feruzi Ali" — Our exhausted condition during the starva- 
tion period — My medical experiences on board the S.S. Madura and 
Oriental — Description of Tippu-Tib and his si aft* as observed by 
me on the S.S. Madura .. .. .. .. .. .. 468 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

SUMMARY OF MY PROFESSIONAL AKD PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THE 
RELIEF EXPEDITION. 

My experiences from the Congo mouth to Stanley Pool — All of us have 
suffered some time or another from gastrointestinal catarrh — Our 
sick left at Mataddi and Leopoldvillc — How to render inanity 
wholesome — Luxuriant forests of the Upper Congo River — Un- 
pleasant times on board the Henry hetd while proceeding to 
Yambuya — Poisoned wooden spikes placed in the ground by the 
savages — Our march through the dense primeval forest — Camping- 
grounds and hut construction — Hornets' nests in the forest — Our 
feod- supply on the journey to Lake Albert — Mr. Stanley assists me 
with valuable advice in the pievention and treatment of fevers — 
During the forest march we are pestered by parasites, jiggers, and 

c 



xxvi CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

ticks — The reuoval of the arrow-head from Lieut. Stairs' chest — 
Amputation of Juma's foot— Great mortality ainons; the sick left at 
Ugarrowwa's Station — The terrible gangrenous ulcers — Xelson's 
Starvation Camp — Mr. Stanley presents me with a watch and 
chain — History of the same — Incident showing the loyalty of our 
Zanzibaris — Our arrival at. Bagamoyo — We are entertained by the 
local magnates, &c. — Accident tu Emin Pasha — He develops 
broncho-pneumonic symptoms — The Germans interfere with the 
Pasha's boxes — I am struck down with hamiaturic fever — Dr. 
Charlesworth's anxiety regarding my condition — My former attack 
of hamiaturic fever at Fort Bodo — My ill-fated friend Major Bart- 
telot — Mr. J. S. Jameson and Mr. Bonny — Concluding Remarks 
about my three fellow-officers — Jephson, Nelson, Stairs — Our 
leader, Mr. Stanley — Welcome home — The End .. .. .. 492 

INDEX 515 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



NO. PAGE 

1. Thomas Heazle Parke .. .. .. .. .. .. Frontispiece 

2. Arrows used by the Pigmies .. .. .. .. .. .. 85 

3. Nelson's Starvation Camp 

4. Donkey killed, struggle for meat 

5. Curios on leopard skin 

6. Stairs relieving Nelson and Parke at Ipoto 

7. Manyuema setting fire to our hut containing ammunition at Ipoto 

8. Zanzibari warning Nelson and Parke of intended attack 

9. Different ways of gardening at Fort Bodo 

10. Muftah asking forgiveness 

11. Arrival of Mr. Stanley at Fort Bodo with rear column 

13. Pigmy damsel changing her dress 

14. Natives at Kavalli's supposed to have tails 

15. Performing blood brotherhood .. 

16. Parke and his faithful Pigmy .. 

17. View of Ruwenzori (sketched by Stairs) 

18. Group of relics .. 



117 

122 

182 \* 

192' 

136 

145^ 

176 v 

275 - 

336^ 

345^ 

397' 

430^ 

301 v 

439^ 

500 ^ 



MAP. 

Route Map of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition across Central Africa 

in, jpocket. 



MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 



IN 



EQUATORIAL AFRICA. 



it 



CHAPTER I. 

FKOM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 

Meeting with Major Barttelot at Alexandria, who furnishes me with an 
introduction to Mr. Stanley — An unsuccessful call on the explorer — The 
Alexandrian Hunt Club — Interview with Mr. Stanley at Cairo — Indefinite 
leave of absence granted me by the Authorities — The contract of engage- 
ment fur the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition — Preparations for the start 
— Farewell banquet at the Khedivial Club — My servant Mohammed — 
At Zagazig I meet Mr. Stanley and Dr. Junker — Tel Basta — Suez — 
Introduction to my fellow officers — Our Nubian soldiers — Amputation of 
Mohammed Doud's finger — Embarkation on the S.S. Oriental at Aden 
— The contingent of Somalis — Description of Aden — A case of small-pox 
— Vaccination of all the members of the Expedition — Temperature in 
the Indian Ocean — Gymnastics of the flying fish, — Rules for the preser- 
vation of health in the Tropics — Bleached bones at Lamu — Mombasa — 
Arrival at Zanzibar — Dr. Hussey introduces me to the famous Tippu- 
Tib — Our Zanzibaris — We embark en the S.S. Madura — Fiee fight 
between the Soudanese and Zanzibaris — Mr. Stanley distributes the men 
among the officers — Tippu-Tib to be appointed Governor of " Stanley 
Falls" — Copy of " General Orders" issued by Mr. Stanley — The men's 
daily rations — My professional experiences on board the Madura — Small- 
pox in Africa. 

Jan. 20, 1887. — On my way to duty in the morning I met a 
comparatively old friend, Major Barttelot of the 7th Fusiliers. 
He had just arrived by P. and 0. steamer en route for Aden. 
Bright, jolly, and animated he was, radiant with energy and 
good humour ; as, indeed, I always found him except when 
depressed by sickness or overwork of some kind. When 
the mutual greetings were concluded, he informed me that 
he had been selected by Mr. Stanley to accompany him as one 
of the officers of the Emin Pasha Belief Expedition, and was 
then actually on his way to execute an important commission 



2 EXPERIENCES IN EQUAT01UAL AFRICA. [1887. 

for his chief. This commission was the collection of thirteen 
Somali boys at Aden, with whom he was to meet Mr. Stanley 
on his way to Zanzibar ; as the latter, from his previous 
experience of their usefulness, thought it very desirable 
to add this contingent to the effective roll of the present 
expedition. 

Barttelot seemed quite radiant with the romantic idea of 
traversing unknown regions in search of the lost European 
hero, and urged me to accompany the expedition, if I could 
obtain a release from my present duties. On inquiring who 
Emin was, I was told he was "some chap who wanted to 
get out of Africa and couldn't." The idea pleased me, 
■and I immediately agreed that I should try to obtain the 
appointment of medical officer. I would apply personally to 
Mr. Stanley when he arrived here. He was expected in a few 
days, and Barttelot kindly offered me a letter of introduction 
to him. I was very pleased with the idea of having Barttelot 
as a companion, if selected by the leader of the Relief Expe- 
dition, as he was very jolly company when off duty. He is a 
hard worker, very energetic, and always on the move ; so that 
he should be a very effective officer, although rather hot- 
tempered and a rigid disciplinarian. 

Jax. 27. — On hearing of Mr. Stanley's arrival by P. and 0. 
steamer, I followed up my intentions by at once calling on him. 
So I proceeded to Abbat's hotel, where I had been told that 
he was staying for an hour or so before the Cairo train would 
leave. I sent in the letter of introduction which Barttelot had 
given me a week before. When admitted to his presence I 
tendered an offer of my services. The immediate answer — 
characteristically prompt and decisive in tone — was, that he 
could take no person now, as he had already chosen a sufficient 
number of officers. This left me nothing more to say on the 
subject, so I gave him my card and took leave. He left for 
Cairo, and I went back to my routine employment, thinking 
that nothing further was likely to result from the application. 
Accordingly I gave as little further thought to the matter as 
possible, although I was growing tired of the routine of Alex- 
andrian life, with its sleepy, apathetic, one-eyed inhabitants, 
and its engrossing native industry of " backsheesh." 

Jan. 28, 29. — I was dining with a party at the Khedivial 
Club when a telegram was brought to me by the waiter 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 3 

19.45 p.m.). On opening I found it was from the leader of the 
Emm Pasha Eelief Expedition. It was worded as follows : 

" Surgeon Parke, Medical Staff, Alexandria. 

" If allowed accompany Expedition what terms required? Are you free to 
go with me ? Send particulars to 

" Shepheard's Hotel. 

(Signed) " Stanley." 

My former ambition — suddenly aroused and as suddenly sup- 
pressed — now received a new stimulus. I determined to lose 
no time in preparation, as Mr. Stanley's quickness of resolve 
and promptitude of action were well known. So I immediately 
wired my reply : 

" Certainly. Coming to Cairo to-night." 

Before leaving for Cairo I was obliged to transfer the 
responsibilities of the Alexandrian Hunt — a meet of the fox 
hounds having been previously advertised for the following 
day. The Hunt Club had paid me the compliment of 
electing me " master" of the fox hounds at Alexandria in 
the year 1886. It was the first pack ever hunted in Egypt, 
and had been a great success. Some of my most pleasant 
recollections were associated with the club and its members. 
During the previous part of the winter — from the time 
when the declining temperature permitted us to do so with 
safety and comfort — we had held our regular weekly meet 
(Saturday, 3 p.m.). Our Egyptian foxes, although smaller, 
were sufficiently like those I had been accustomed to hunt in 
Ireland, to make the home associations an additional element 
in the enjoyment of this newly- imported exercise. At the 
appointed time and place about sixty mounted disciples of 
Niinrod would turn up, including representatives of nearly 
every civilised nation. A more cosmopolitan gathering could 
hardly be found. And excellent sport we usually had; the 
scent lay well in the neighbourhood of Alexandria, as the 
proximity of the sea insured us a fair distribution of surface 
moisture. Accordingly, the main difficulty to be anticipated 
in the securing of a successful run was the choosing of the 
country, which required a certain amount of diplomacy on 
account of the distribution of gardens, swamps, &c. This was 
.all changed when we approached Cairo ; there we had simply 

b 2 



4 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

no scent at all, owing to the absence of surface moisture and 
the superfluous distribution of sand. 

In this difficulty I proposed to a brother officer his taking 
up my responsibilities for the success of the morrow's meet : 
his modesty at first made him hesitate ; but, on explaining the 
peculiarities of my position, he very kindly acceded to my 
request, and thus relieved me of an important charge. Warmly 
thanking him for the timely relief, I at once rushed off to pack 
up a few things to bring with me to Cairo, and left Alexandria 
by the 10.30 P.M. train. 

At 6 A.M. I arrived at Shepheard's Hote], and sought a 
partial refreshment for the labours of the day by a few hours 
sleep in the reading-room, as the hotel was full. Then a bath, 
and hasty toilet, prepared me for an interview with the leader 
of the Expedition. This took place between 9.30 and 10 A.M. 
I agreed without hesitation, explaining, of course, to 3Ir. 
Stanley my present relationship with the Army Medical Staff. 
He at once cablegraphed to the War Office, London, requesting 
permission for me to accompany him in medical charge of the 
Emin Pasha Belief Expedition. I had no difficulty in obtain- 
ing the sanction of Surgeon-General O'Xial, C.B., and of 
General Sir Frederick Stephenson, G.C.B. The latter is in 
command of the British forces in Egypt, and he cablegraphed 
to the. War Office authorities asking them to grant me per- 
mission to accompany Mr. Stanley. He also asked whether. 
in case the request Avas acceded to, my pay would be continued,, 
and my service under Mr. Stanley count towards promotion 
and retirement. To these queries the following reply was 
received in due course : — 

11 29th. — Yours to-day. Government is not resjDonsible for Stanley Ex- 
pedition, and cannot give official sanction to officers joining it. Barttelot has- 
been given leave of absence from Ms regiment — without pay — with leave to 
travel in Africa. This is all that can be done to Parke." 

Accordingly, I was so far free to move, although the amount 
of encouragement was not very stimulating. However, as I 
had put my hand to the plough, I felt no wish to look back. 

He also wrote the following letter to Sir Frederick 
Stephenson :— „ Shepheard > s Hotel, 

"29^ January, 1887. 
"To General Officer commanding in Esvpt — 
« Sir, 

" I should feel exceedingly obliged if you would be good enough to- 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 5 

grant permission to Surgeon T. H. Parke, of the Medical Staff to accompany 
the Emin Pasha Kelief Expedition as medical officer in charge. 

" The medical officer who had already been appointed has, at the last 
moment, as I learn by cable from London, been compelled to abandon the 
Expedition. I estimate the duration of the Expedition to be about eighteen 
months. 

" I have the honour to be, Sir, 

" Your obedient servant, 

(Signed) " H. M. Stanley. 

" Cairo, 31— 1— '87." 

I also sent a written application to the P. M. 0. It was 
worded as follows : — 

"From Surgeon T. H. Parke, M. S., Cairo, to Principal Medical 
Officer, Egypt. 

" Cairo, 29— 1— '87. 
"Sir, 

" I have the honour to request that permission may be granted me to 
accompany Mr. Stanley to Central Africa for the relief of Emin Pasha, as 
medical officer in charge of the force. 

" I beg to attach a telegram which I received from Mr. Stanley. 

" I have the honour to be, Sir, 

" Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) " T. H. Parke, 

" Surgeon, M. S." 

To this application I received, in due course, the following 
rbply :— 

" Chief of Staff, 

" Forwarded. I have no objection. 

(Signed) " J. O'Xial, 

" Surgeon-General, P. M. 0. 
" Cairo, 31— 1— '87." 

Jan. 30. — General Sir Frederick Stephenson sent a mes- 
sage, asking me to visit him at his house at 10.30 a.m. He 
then showed me the reply (printed above) which he had 
received to his cablegram. He talked to me very considerately 
about my position, and recommended me to think further over 
the matter, and consider the difficulties and dangers which 
must inevitably beset the Expedition in its progress, before 
coming to a final decision. I told him that I had already 
done so, and had definitely made up my mind to go on. I 
then submitted my final application in writing, asking — at 
his own suggestion — for indefinite leave of absence. So far 
now, my difficulties were completely removed, as I was sure of 



6* EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

leave of absence for an indefinite period — from the 5th prox. 
Accordingly, I at once returned to the hotel to Mr. Stanley, 
and. signed the following : — 

" Contract of Engagement for Emin Pa sua Eelief Expedition. 

" I, Thomas Heazle Parke, Surgeon Army Medical Staff, agree to accom- 
pany the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, and to place myself under the 
command of Mr. H. M. Stanley, the leader of the Expedition, and to accept 
any post or position in that Expedition to which he may appoint me. I 
further agree to serve him loyally and devotedly, to obey all his orders, and 
to follow him by whatsoever route he may choose, and to use my utmost 
endeavours to bring the Expedition to a successful issue. Should I leave the 
Expedition without his orders, I agree to forfeit passage money, and to 
become liable to refund all moneys advanced to me for passage to Zanzibar 
and outfit. 

"Mr. H. M. Stanley also agrees to give £40 for outfit, and to pay my 
passage to Zanzibar, and my return passage to England, provided I continue 
during the whole period of the Expedition. I undertake not to publish 
anything connected with the Expedition, or to send any account to the news- 
papers for six months after the issue of the official publication of the 
Expedition by the leader or his representative. 

" In addition to the outfit Mr. Stanley will supply the following : — tent, 
bed, Winchester rifle, one revolver, ammunition for the same, canteen, a due 
share of European provisions taken for the party — besides such provisions as 
the country can supply. 

" T. H. Parke, 

" Surgeon Army Medical Staff, 

" Shepheard's Hotel, Cairo, 

" SOth January, 1887. 
" Witness William Hoffman, 

" Approved Henry M. Stanley." 

The preliminaries having been so far satisfactorily adjusted, 
I had but to provide as well as I could for personal comforts 
and professional requirements. 

I asked Mr. Stanley whether he had any surgical instru- 
ments with him for the use of the Expedition. He replied, 
" No." He gave me, however, £15 to purchase the necessary 
stock of instruments, in addition to the £40 for my outfit, so I 
had now merely to complete my preparations for departure. 
Accordingly, I left Cairo for Alexandria by the 5.40 p.m. train, 
arriving at 9.30 p.m., and went straight to the club. My 
friends were looking out for the result of my interview with 
Mr. Stanley. On hearing that the preliminary arrangements 
had been definitely completed, the usual variety of comments 
were uttered. Some said "lucky fellow"; others — with a pity- 
ing shrug of the shoulders — " Poor devil ! " However, I had 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 7 

now sufficient employment in making my preparations for the 
start, and did not waste much time in discussing the prudence 
of my procedure. 

Jan. 31. — The whole of this day was spent in procuring the 
items necessary for my outfit. I received the following 
telegram : — 

" To Surgeon Parke, Alexandria. " 31 Jan. '87. 

"Please wire your decision as to accompanying Stanley ; send also by post 
to-day your decision in accordance with telegram from Horse Guards 
yesterday. Certified copies of documents referred to by you will be sent you 
by post. 

"Military Secretary, Cairo." 

Having complied with the contents of this missive, I felt 
my mind easier regarding my present position. My official 
fetters were now removed, and I merely required to prepare 
for the fulfilment of a new class of duties in a different sphere 
of action. 

Feb. 1. — I completed my outfit in the early part of the day, 
and then paid several farewell visits. Mr. B. Smith, chief of 
the Eastern Telegraph, gave a sumptuous luncheon for me. 
Most of the officers of the garrison, and many civilians, were 
present. 

Feb. 2. — In the early part of this day I settled my accounts 
and made my will, so that my earthly anxieties might be 
reduced to a minimum before facing the ordeal of the African 
forests and deserts. 

In the evening I was entertained at a farewell banquet 
given me by many friends — civil and military, English and 
foreign — at the Khedivial Club. Many speeches were made, 
all of them kindly in tone and cordial in feeling. I was 
certainly made to feel that I was parting from warm friends. 
I already felt a halo of romance forming around my move- 
ments, and realised, more fully than I had previously done, 
the thrilling nature of the journey and incidents in which I 
must take part during the pilgrimage in quest of the lost 
hero of Equatoria. The cosmopolitan character of the society 
of the metropolis of African civilisation was well displayed at 
this farewell gathering. Such a Babel of tongues, as the wine 
went round and conversation became more confidential ! 

My servant, Mohammed, a Berberine, who had agreed to 
accompany me on the Expedition, with a monthly pay of £3, 



•8 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

now "funked" the clangers which he had heard so fully dis- 
cussed. The excuse he offered was that his father did not like 
the idea of his going. The dutiful son ! I remember having 
read among the experiences of some exploring traveller, who 
had tried to preach industry among the Berberines, that he 
was met by the conservative objection, " Our fathers never 
worked, and it would be a disgrace to break the old custom." 
I can fully realise the earnest truthfulness of the assertion. 

Feb. 3. — Left Mohambey station (8 a.m.) for Suez. A 
large gathering of friends had come to see me off. A former 
patient of mine presented me with a copy of Shakespeare, as a 
parting gift and remembrancer on my journey. I cordially 
appreciated the kind attention ; and, now that I am about to 
penetrate the undiscovered country, from whose bourn so few 
white travellers have safely returned, I trust that the perusal 
of the pages of the immortal dramatist will help me to while 
away many a weary hour. At Zagazig station the Alexandria 
and Cairo trains meet, and there I met Mr. Stanley and Dr. 
Junker. I proceeded in company with them to Suez. TVe 
were joined at Ismailia by Giglier Pasha, who travelled with 
ns the rest of the way, so that I already began to enjoy the 
advantages of intellectual friction with three of the most 
experienced authorities on the internal arrangements of the 
" Dark Continent." Mr. Stanley then asked me what country 
I belonged to. replied, Ireland. Then he said, " Well, you 
are the first Irishman who will have crossed Africa." 

The neighbourhood of the large modern Egyptian city of 
Zagazig is interesting to the tourist and the antiquarian, as 
well as to the modern historian. Near it is Tel Basta, the 
ruined remains of the Pi Bast of the ancients, a city sacred 
to the holy cat, which was the object of so much religious 
veneration among the Egyptians in the more prosperous days 
of their history. Innumerable images and modelled forms of 
the sacred animal have been exhumed from the mounds which 
occupy the site, from a magnified life-size clown to minute 
miniature : and the remains of a large temple dedicated to 
" the sacred cat, the lady of the white crown " have also been 
explored. A sharp engagement occurred here after the battle 
of Tel-el-Kebir, in 1882, between a small detachment of 
British cavalry and several trains-full of Egyptian troops, 
which resulted in the complete dispersion of the latter. 



1887] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 9 

We arrived at Suez at 7 r.M., and put up at the Suez 
Hotel. We were there obliged to accommodate ourselves to 
the drawbacks which characterise so many of the remote 
provincial establishments of this class, as the house was small 
and not very clean, while the entertainment was decidedly 
-expensive. There was nothing in our immediate surroundings 
to inspire feelings of a romantic or any other high class, and 
even the comparative proximity of Kas Sufsafeh, on the summit 
of which Moses is believed to have received the "tables of 
stone," was not sufficient to concentrate our attention, pre- 
occupied as it is by our own ponderous responsibilities. 

Feb. 4. — Sailed about one mile to the end of the promontory, 
and there inspected sixty-two Nubian soldiers, who are to 
accompany us on the Expedition. They are all volunteers ; 
in splendid physical condition and excellent spirits. 

In the evening I dined with Dr. Morrison, of Suez. 

Feb. 5. — I procured for myself a few final extras to complete 
my kit. Giglier Pasha returned home by early train. I 
played in a cricket-match — for " Suez " against " Eastern 
Telegraph." The game was vigorously contested, and our 
side, indeed, managed to get beaten, but the result did not 
depress our spirits. I telegraphed to Mr. Charles Koyle, of 
Alexandria, for a copy of his ' Egyptian Campaigns,' which 
I received in due course. 

Feb. 6. — Mr. Stanley, Dr. Junker, and myself lunched with 
Mr. Beyts, the British India S.S. Agent at Suez. At 3 p.m. 
we embarked on the Navarino, B. I. S. S. Co. I was there 
introduced by Mr. Stanley to Messrs. Nelson, Jephson, Stairs, 
and Bonny, all of whom are, like myself, officers of the 
Expedition. Bonny had arrived yesterday. 

I got our Nubian volunteers on board and gave receipts for 
their equipment, kits, ammunition, Einin Pasha's kit, &c, &c. 

Our reinforcement of Nubians are certainly immense fellows 
to look at. I presume that the specimens were selected 
with some care ; the average stature is rather over six feet. 
Gigantic individuals ; but rather sulky-looking [an appear- 
ance which does not belie their character, as we afterwards 
experienced]. Their features are of the Negro type, with thick 
lips, flattened noses, woolly hair, and ill-developed calves. 
They are to be used rather as soldiers than in any other 
way. [It did not take long to discover that some such swag- 



10 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

gering employment — with little fatiguing physical work to do,, 
and little definite to think about — suited them best, as they 
are really dull and stupid, and have little enduring energy. 
It has been said that the typical Negro is essentially a 
being of the moment, who enjoys his immediate surroundings- 
without care or forethought for future contingencies, and is- 
aroused to a direct sense of his wants only by the pressure 
of hunger or pain ; that he is a born communist, with an 
open heart and an open hand, and shares whatever he happens 
to possess at the moment Avith all his friends and well-wishers,, 
on the supposition that they will do the same upon like 
occasion. These characteristics were, however, found to be 
much more developed in our Zanzibaris, who were really of a 
mixed origin, and cannot at all be offered as perfect types of 
the African Negro.] 

Feb. 7. — A number of missionaries and their wives came 
on board ; they are bound for Burmah and India. One of 
the blacks (Nubians) had his finger broken at Wady Haifa 
three weeks previously. His name is Mohammed Doucl ; he 
was, of course, reported sick. At this date there was no 
chance of saving the finger. So I amputated it above the 
first joint. I considered it well worth while to save even 
a portion of the first phalanx of a digit of a hand, the 
functions of which were not purely ornamental. [Most 
surgical authorities lay it down as a dogma that there is no 
use in amputating through the first phalanx of any of the four 
smaller digits ; however, the adhesions of the tendons and 
fasciae in the cicatricial tissue must necessarily leave a fair 
degree of active mobility to a first phalanx which has been 
divided in its continuity, although in the healthy anatomical 
state it has no tendon attached to it. Accordingly, I acted 
on this principle, and the event certainly justified the pro- 
cedure, for the patient afterwards displayed a considerable 
power of using his stumpy phalanx, and would certainly have 
greatly resented a suggestion to remove what he had left.] 

I dressed the wound antiseptically, and arranged the hand 
comfortably in a sling. 

Mohammed Doucl states that he came in Gordon's steamer 
from Khartoum to Metemmeh on the 21st of January, 1885. 
He said he recognised me as one of the persons whom he had 
seen there on his arrival. 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAFE TOWN. 11 

On this day Dr. Junker left us. 

In the evening we steamed away from Suez. 

Feb. 8. — The day was calm and warm — a day for reflection. 
I had not much in the way of active duty — Mohammed Doud's 
linger was my principal charge, so I had ample opportunities 
for thinking quietly over my present position. Before signing 
my agreement with Mr. Stanley, I asked him what he meant 
by " terms " in his telegram of the 28th of January. His 
brief reply was : ''There are none." Accordingly my pecuniary 
prospects connected with this expedition are simply nil: I 
receive no remuneration from any source whatever. The 
Government has refused to pay me ; I am volunteering my 
services gratuitously ; and so must only exist in the hope that, 
like all virtuous deeds performed in this world, they will 
eventually — if not immediately — prove their own reward. 

Feb. 9. — Attended to Mohammed Doucl, who is doing well ; 
spent a great part of the day in mental evaluation of my future 
companions. At intervals I amused myself by reading 'Kiug 
Solomon's Mines.' 

Feb. 10. — To-day the temperature of both air and water is 
80° F.— latitude a little south of Suakim. We had an " event " 
at noon-tide, in the shape of a slight slioiuer of rain — a rare 
incident in the Eed Sea. 

Feb. 11. — To-day we passed the island of Perirn in the 
straits of BabuT Mandib — our gate of exit from the Eed Sea. 

The French had intended making a coaling station at this 
island, but — observe the powers of superior diplomacy ! — the 
French admiral received a timely invitation to lunch with the 
British governor at Aden ; and the proffered hospitality occu- 
pied his thoughts so fully that he did not mind hoisting the 
" tricolour " in the early part of the clay. He returned from a 
pleasant repast to find the Union Jack flying on Altamont ? 
the highest point of the island, where it had been placed 
during the hoar of entertainment by a swift and trusty 
messenger of his confiding host. 

Feb. 12. — At 2.30 a.m. we anchored off Aden. After break- 
fast, the ISubian soldiers were transferred to the B. I. S. S. 
Oriental. Mr. Stanley also went on board, with Jephson, 
Stairs, Xelson, Bonny, and myself. Major Barttelot and Mr. 
Jameson (with thirteen Somalis) received us on board. The 
baggage was taken over, and we steamed away at 4 p.m. The 



12 EXPERIENCES IX EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

Navarino passengers gave us a hearty farewell cheer as we 
moved off. 

Our new contingent of Sornalis presents an interesting and, 
indeed, striking contrast to their Nubian fellow-travellers. 
The average height of the Somali is about 5ft. Tin., and, as he 
is of light build, and carries no superfluous rlesh whatever, he 
looks a puny pigmy when observed alongside the gigantic 
Nubian. The Somali's type of feature is Asiatic ; and the 
quick, intelligent expression of his face and eyes, which often 
varies, according to the inspiration of the moment, into one 
of genuine intellectual cleverness or pronounced cunning, also 
furnishes an interesting study when observed beside the dull, 
stolid, and sulky features of his Nubian neighbour. These 
Sornalis are also very agile in their movements — compared 
with the Xegroes ; and can do some curious things in the way 
of gymnastics. They are very expert divers, and will perform 
wonders in the way of bringing up things from under water. 
Their skin is of a coppery tint ; the natural expression of the 
face is strikingly bright — with quick, dark, and very mobile 
eyes — and, altogether, their appearance is prepossessing. 

They are. I believe, all 3Iohammedans in creed, but not 
very strict in the practice of their faith. They have a sultan 
of their own, of course, and there are three castes among his 
subjects : the iron-workers, the common people, the jugglers 
and magic doctors. The K good " Mohammedan Somali shaves 
his head, and wears a turban ; the less strict allows his hair to 
grow pretty long, and parts it down the middle. The prin- 
cipal garment is of sheep-skin — which the men make into 
a girdle which is worn around the loins, and the women 
a cloak which reaches below the knee. When travelling, 
a piece of red goat-skin is carried, to kneel on during 
prayer. 

At Aden all are clothed in long cloth shirts and calico 
shawls. 

We received a " Eeuter " bearing the intelligence that 400 
Italians had been massacred at 3Iassowah, and that the British 
Government had decided to evacuate Egypt. Encouraging 
items these to British wanderers about to penetrate the heart 
of Africa ! 

Aden itself consists of a mass of hills of rugged and preci- 
pitous character, forming a peninsula, connected by a slender 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 13 

and low isthmus to the Arabian portion of the Asiatic 
continent. It includes a town and military cantonment, with 
elaborate fortifications. Its military and geological peculiar- 
ities have given it the name of the " Indian Gibraltar." It 
has many events of great interest written in its past history r 
one of the most taking to the British traveller beino; the facfc 
that it was the first accession of territory recorded in the reign 
of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. It is celebrated for the 
possession of colossal water-tanks ; the construction of which 
dates back to the second Persian invasion of Yemen, which 
took place in a.d. 600. The study of these structures brings- 
the mind of the historic antiquarian back to a period when the 
civilisation of Persia and Arabia formed such an astounding; 
contrast to the ignorant and unwashed condition of the greater 
part of Europe, that some of the most enlightened authorities 
on the habits and customs of this period will have us believe 
that the bloody conquests of the Arabs and Turks in the 
southern and south-eastern portions of our own continent were- 
by no means an unmixed evil. The importance of the seaport 
has, of course, risen enormously since the opening of the- 
Suez Canal ; it now serves as a sort of " half-way house " to 
India. The structure of the hills has been found very- 
interesting to scientific geologists, who look upon them as a 
volcanic relic, representing a huge crater of a remote period 
in the world's history. Its proximity to Africa makes Aden 
an easy resort for Somali emigrants in search of employment, 
a fact which accounts for the lew of our Somali contino-ent" 
within its precincts. 

Feb. 13. — -A case of small-pox on board! The patient is 
one of the Nubian volunteers, and its appearance at once con- 
centrated my attention on the means of preventing the spread 
of the disease. I have a good supply of lymph by me which 
was purchased by Mr. Stanley from Edward Prichard, Druggist^ 
of 10, Yigo Street, Regent Street, London. So I recommended 
immediate vaccination of all the members of the Expedition,, 
to which they consented — excepting one European, who is an 
anti - vaccinationist. Accordingly, I proceeded at once to 
vaccinate Mr. Stanley (in four places) ; also the remaining 
Europeans, and the black boy, Baruti, were subjected to the- 
same operation. Eighteen of the Nubians were then vaccinated 
(three places each). The rest of the Nubian party had but 



14 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

recently been vaccinated, so I did not think it necessary to do 
the like for them. Mr. Bonny has also been re-vaccinated 
but a short time ago. 

The temperature of my small-pox patient was 103*4° F. I 
had him immediately removed to one of the boats swung above 
the bulwarks, where he is perfectly isolated. This man's name 
is Said Mahommed Abdul : he has never been vaccinated, so 
that the occurrence of his case is no argument against vaccina- 
tion or re-vaccination. 

Feb. 14. — I vaccinated the two interpreters and two Nubian 
■officers. 

My small-pox patient was now placed in one of the boats 
above the awning, so as to isolate him the more completely, 
and thereby prevent, as far as possible, the spread of infection. 

During my spare hours I took some lessons from the first 
officer in reading the sextant. ,The mutual relationships of the 
several angles of incidence and reflection proved rat her puzzling 
;at first ; but, as my tutor displayed patience and sympathy, I 
soon commenced to make a little progress in the domain of 
practical optics. 

We passed Cape Guardafui at 11.30 A.M., and entered the 
broad expanse of the Indian Ocean. The temperature is going 
mp, and the stuffiness of the atmosphere below is becoming 
more marked every hour. 

I slept on deck, as the cabin was unbearably hot. 

Feb. 15. — A very heavy shower of rain fell at 11 a.m. The 
atmosphere appears to be growing moister as we are widening 
our distance from the arid surroundings of the Bed Sea. 

In the afternoon Nelson, Stairs, and myself practised shoot- 
ing with the revolver. Each of us succeeded in breaking a 
T)ottle. 

There are four or five German passengers on board, who 
appear to spend their whole time in reading, taking notes, 
and refreshing themselves with beer. They are, I believe, 
about to form a trading company at Zanzibar. 

Heavy rain fell during the night. 

I slept on deck, for not only did I find the stuffy heat of the 
cabin objectionable, but the whole place was alive with cock- 
roaches and small red ants. 

Feb. 16. — The atmosphere is now very damp and relaxing. 
This was more especially felt at night. One of the most 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 15 

prominent phenomena at this stage of our voyage is the 
gymnastics of the flying -fish. Specimens are continually flying 
on board. They appear to fly almost invariably against the 
wind, and they habitually penetrate the waves in their flight. 
The usual length of their aerial course appears to be about 
20 to 30 feet, and they generally rise about two feet above 
the water. They are extremely numerous, and fly sometimes 
singly, sometimes in shoals of considerable number. 

I wrote out the following " Kules " which were published in 
3Ir. Stanley's " Order Book " for the guidance of his staff, &c. 

Rules for the Preservation of Health in the Tropics. 

Water. — All drinking-water — no matter how sparkling and pure — should 
Hje invariably boiled to insure its freedom from dangerous constituents. Cold 
weak tea, without sugar or milk, is best for the march. Water should always 
be drawn from the centre of the stream. 

Sun. — Xo precautions can be too great for protecting the head from the 
<Hrect rays of the sun. The use of a proper head-dress and umbrella, also a 
spinal pad for the morning and evening sun, is judicious. 

Chills, draughts, sitting in damp clothes, especially when heated after 
violent exercise and copious perspiration — also cooling of the body suddenly 
in any way — are certain to be followed by fever. 

Clothing. — The bodily temperature should be kept as equable as possible. 
Xocsely fitting woollen clothes are preferable. Light Komrnerbund should be 
worn day and night. On halting after a march, put on a wrapper so as to 

■ cool gradually ; get under cover and change if possible. 

Sleep as far as possible off the ground, and always under mosquito curtains 
at night. 

Diet should be plain : meat — rejecting the fat ; fish, vegetables well boiled; 
(fruit, rice, and cereals. 

Early morning .... Cafe-au-lait. 

Mid-day meal ..... Dejeuner with fruit. 
Evening ...... Dinner without fruit. 

Alcohol habitually, especially during ihc day, is most dangerous ; medicinally, 
•on occasions, it is very useful. 

Tab in the early morning, or at the end of march, before cooling : never 
while digestion is going on, and always tepid, if possible. 

Camp. — Select highland plateau near water supply : don't disturb the soil, 
avoid ravines, never to leeward of a swamp, unless separated by a belt of 
trees or a river. Site of latrine should be selected immediately on halting. 
Avoid camping under trees. 

(Signed) T. H. Parke, Surgeon Army Medical Staff, 
In medical charge E. P. E. Expedition. 

Feb. 17. — This was the fourth morning of my numerous vac- 

• cination cases. Among the whites in only two cases, however, 

has it taken well; those were Lieutenant Stairs and William 

Hoffman, Mr. Stanley's sen~ant. In all the others the local 

■ indications are but slight, although not one of them had 



16 EXPERIENCES IK EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

been vaccinated before for the past ten years. Of the blacks, 
one has taken well, some partially, the remainder failed — the 
only local result being a slight inflammatory blush around each 
point of insertion. This, however, is, I have no doubt, due to 
the fact that the great majority of them have either been 
vaccinated or have had small-pox at a recent date. Something- 
of the result is also due, perhaps, to climatic influences. 

Captain Shepherd (of the S. S. Oriental) corrected my aneroid 
to-day. The case of small-pox on board is of the confluent 
variety. 

Feb. 18. — At 9 a.m. we crossed the Equator. 

We saw one shark to-day, close to the vessel. 

I instructed the European members of the Expedition in 
bandaging, stopping haemorrhages, setting fractures, and re- 
suscitation of the apparently drowned. Three of the men 
developed feverish symptoms, so I had them at once placed in 
" quarantine " by putting them in one of the boats over the 
awning — corresponding in position to the boat on the opposite 
side of the steamer where the small-pox case was placed. 

As the period of incubation is almost invariably twelve days 
in the cases due to infection, there can be no doubt that 
these cases — if they are to prove genuine small-pox — must 
have resulted from exposure prior to the date of embarkation. 
Some of them had come to our party from Khartoum. Of the 
three : — 

Hamed Mohammed had small-pox 8 years ago. 

Eathel Moulah Houssain ,, „ ? 

Said Fadel Allah „ „ in boyhood. 

[These cases were, of course, anxiously watched ; but only a 
very few vesicles appeared on each, and these chiefly in the 
neighbourhood of the seat of vaccination. They never pro- 
ceeded to the pustular stage, so that I made up my mind that 
they were results of the operation, and due to lymphatic irri- 
tation. No case after the original one developed pronounced 
symptoms of small-pox.] 

Feb. 19. — We arrived at Lamu about 4 p.m. On goinsr 
ashore, one of the first objects of interest to which my attention 
was directed was a huge collection of bleached bones, including- 
the skeletons of several hundred men who had been killed in 
Avar with one of the sultans of Zanzibar. They decorate the 
site of the battle-field, situated close to an old tower — resembling: 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 17 

in form one of our own martello towers — and near the entrance 
■of the harbour. The mails were just leaving there, so I wrote 
two letters. 

Feb. 20. — I went ashore with Capt. Shepherd, the medical 
officer of the ship, and Mr. Jameson, for some shooting. Jame- 
son shot a pair of red-legged partridges. I managed to get 
one. I also succeeded in wounding a gazelle, but had no time 
to track it. 

At 9 A.M. we steamed away from Lamu, taking the Kev. Mr. 
Wakefield (missionary) as passenger to Zanzibar. 

Feb. 21. — We arrived at Mombasa at 9 a.m. This is a 
very pretty place, and garnished with old fortifications. I 
•counted twenty-six obsolete pieces of cannon placed around. 
The missionaries have a large station here, and appear to 
occupy the best houses of the " West End." They have a 
steamer of their own, and a convenient harbour is formed by an 
inlet of the sea, which just faces the town. Palm trees are 
very numerous in this neighbourhood. 

We moved away at 10.30 a.m., and anchored for the night 
near some islands. We caught some small fish to-day. 

The three cases which had been retained in temporary qua- 
rantine were released to-day, as no serious symptoms had 
developed, and their temperature has for the past few days 
been at normal. 

Feb. 22. — We arrived at Zanzibar at noon. Mr. Stanley 
went on shore immediately, and proceeded to the residence of 
the British (Acting) Consul-General, Mr. Holmwood. He 
deputed me to inspect the S. S. Madura, and tell off the places 
for the men who were to be brought on the Expedition. There 
was ample room, the Madura being registered to carry 750 
between decks. All the men, with their equipments, &e., were 
changed from the Oriental to the Madura, under charge of 
Major Barttelot and myself. The small-pox case I left to be 
taken care of, and sent to hospital in reliable hands. Two 
of the suspected cases (which I had formerly isolated) I still 
keep under personal observation, although I know that small- 
pox is not really threatened. Stairs, Nelson, Jephson, and 
Jameson very busy with the ammunition in the powder 
magazine. 

Feb. 23. — Ash Wednesday. — Stairs, Nelson, Jephson, and 
Jameson left for the magazine at 6 a.m., to complete the 

c 



18 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

arrangements about the ammunition. I visited Mr. Mackenzie 
(agent B. I. S. S. Co.), and found that, according to promise, he 
had had the small-pox case carefully removed from on board the 
Oriental during the night, and comfortably looked after. He- 
promised to have him (as Mr. Stanley directed) sent back to 
Egypt when convalescence was established. I called on Dr. 
Hussey, the consulate-surgeon who had examined all our Zan- 
zibaris and had certified them as medically " fit." On enquiry 
I learned from him that the vaccine tubes which he got from 
England nearly always failed. He received six tubes from 
London but a short time before, and they had all proved useless. 
I dined with him in the evening. The champagne he received 
from the British islands is certainly of a more effective character 
than the vaccine lymph. But so much always depends on the 
host in these matters ! — almost as much as on the surgeon in 
case of an operation. 

Afterwards we visited the sultan's gardens, where we found 
a band playing. We also went to the tennis courts. Quite a 
number of Europeans were there in full enjoyment of the 
popular game — including three ladies. 

Dr. Hussey introduced me to the famous Tippu-Tib, the 
ivory hunter and ex-slave-dealer. He is certainly a very 
remarkable man, both physically and morally. His presence 
is very impressive, standing as he does nearly six feet, with 
bright, intelligent black eyes, and displaying manners of 
imperial dignity and courtesy. His career has been a most 
romantic one : first a slave, then an adventurer from Zanzibar 
to trade in ivory and slaves, he has now succeeded in esta- 
blishing himself as an uncrowned king on the banks of the 
Mid-Congo. His personality is altogether an extremely in- 
teresting one. 

In the afternoon I bought a few useful medicines, strolled 
about the town, and stared at its various sights. The denizens 
of the place appear to be of very mingled racial origin ; chiefly, 
I believe, on account of its convenient position as a resort for 
the slave-dealers. They are not at all typically Negro ; nor, of 
course, are they Asiatic. The place swarms with enormous 
numbers of loafers who are anxious to find employment as 
carriers, &c. 

The Bulak Pasha, or non-commissioned officer, named 
Mohammed Doud, whose finger I had amputated, was dis- 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 19 

charged from his hospital privileges to-day, and sent back to 
duty. 

Feb. 24. — At 10 a.m. our Zanzibari contingent commenced 
to embark. They were conveyed on board in batches of fifty 
each. Although not so large men, they seem more active pro- 
portionally — smarter — than the Nubians, and I am disposed 
to expect better service from them for the purposes of our 
Expedition, owing to my experience of the Nubians on the 
Nile. Arrangements were made for giving excellent and 
copious rations to all the members of our force. 

At 6 P.M. we dined with the British Acting Consul-General. 

When all the Zanzibaris were on board the Madura, she 
steamed out to sea for two miles, and dropped anchor ; an 
important safeguard against desertion. 

Tippu-Tib also embarked — with ninety-six of his followers : 
thirty-rive of these are members of his harem. 

The average age of the members of the Zanzibari con- 
tingent, who are now employed to convey our goods across the 
Dark Continent, is about twenty-seven. They are rather well- 
built men, strong and muscular ; average height, about 5 ft. 
9 in. The native Zanzibaris have some Arab blood in their 
veins ; but a large proportion of our men were captured as 
slaves when young. They accordingly include representatives 
of nearly every tribe in Equatorial Africa. They seem to 
be jolly, good-humoured creatures ; and create a great deal 
of amusement by story-telling and facetious observations on 
every passing incident. 

The Emin Pasha Eelief Expedition was now on boaiud and 
is as follows : — 

Mr. H. M. Stanley, his servant, and his 7 British officers . 9' 

Zanzibaris — men ........ 600 

„ "boys 23 

Soudanese or Nubians ....... 62" 

Somalis ......... 13 

Tippu-Tib and his followers ...... 97 

801 

[Four officers and two men joined the Expedition after- 
wards — making a total strength of 810, inclusive of two inter- 
preters.] 

Early in the morning Ave steamed away. At 9 a.m. the 
Soudanese and the Zanzibaris had a free fisrht. It originated 

c 2 



20 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

in the crowding down of the Nubians by the overwhelming 
numbers of the other party. A decidedly animated scene 
followed. They pushed, pulled, and clawed one another ; and, 
as the excitement proceeded, they laid hold of whatever crude 
weapons happened to be within reach to use upon their op- 
ponents. Fragments of firewood and stray pieces of plank 
were utilised for this purpose, and a large number of wounds 
of various aspects — incised and contused — were provided for 
my special care. One Nubian had his left middle finger 
broken; and a Zanzibari was disabled, by having both bones 
of his fore-arm badly smashed. The other injuries were less 
considerable. 

The men were now distributed by Mr. Stanley to his officers 
as follows : — 

Barttelot received charge of the 62 Nubians and two 
interpreters. 

Stairs, Jameson, Jephson, Nelson, Parke, 111 each: this 
enumeration including six chiefs and six uncler-chiefs. Each 
company was thus commanded by an English officer. 

This was a very busy day for me, professionally. I 
vaccinated forty-three men. Tippu-Tib and twelve of his 
wives were sea-sick, and I prescribed some "Eno ; ' for each. 
Mr. Stanley has induced this potentate to accompany us, and 
has contracted with him for the conveyance of loads, etc. He 
is also to be appointed Governor of " Stanley Falls " by King- 
Leopold of Belgium, on Mr. Stanley's recommendation, at a 
salary of £30 per month. 

We have now commenced to let our beards grow (except 
Mr. Stanley, who always shaves). 

Feb. 26. — Mr. Stanley has now issued " General Orders," 
of which the following is a copy : 

S.S. Madura. 26 February, 1887. 
1. Officers commanding companies in the Emin Pasha Eelief Expedition are 
as follows : — 

Edmund Barttelot, Major . . . Co. A, Soudanese. 

William Grant Stairs, Captain . „ B, Zanzibaris. 

Bobert Henry NelsoD, „ . „ C, 

Mounteney Jephson, „ . „ D, 

J. S. Jameson, „ . . „ E, 

*Bose Troup „ . „ F, 

Thomas Heazle Parke, „ . „ G-, „ 30) 

Somalis 13) 



* This company was never under Mr. Troup, but was transferred to 
Surgeon Parke in conjunction with G Company. 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 21 

Mr. William Bonny takes charge, until further oiders, of transport, and 
riding animals, as well as goat". 

2. Each officer is personally responsible for the good behaviour of his 
company, and for the good condition of arms and accoutrements after 
distribution. 

3. Officers will inspect frequently, when on shore, cartridge pouches of 
their men to see that the cartridges are not lost, or sold to natives or Arabs 
en route. For an intentional loss of one cartridge a fine of one dollar will be 
imposed; two cartridges, two dollars, and a corporal punishment of five 
strokes with a rod. 

4. For trivial offences a slight corporal punishment only can be inflicted, 
and this as seldom as possible. Officers will exercise a proper discretion in 
this matter, and endeavour to avoid irritating their men by being too exacting, 
or unnecessarily fussy : it has been usual with me to be greatly forbearing, 
allowing three pardons for one punishment. 

5. Officers should endeavour to remember that the men's labour is severe ; 
their burdens are heavy, the climate hot, the marches fatiguing, and the 
rations poor and scanty. Under such conditions, human nature becomes soon 
irritable, therefore, punishments should be judicious, to prevent straining the 
patience of the men ; nevertheless, discipline must be taught, and, when 
necessary, enforced for the general well-being of the Expedition. 

6. Serious offences affecting the Expedition generally must be reported 
to me. 

7. While on ship-board one officer is hereby detailed to perform the duties 
of " officer of the day." 

Officer commanding Co. A, begins the duty ; 
„ „ B, succeeds next day; 

and so on. The officer of the day is the executive officer for that day. He 
has to see the rations distributed, quarters of the men cleaned — on deck and 
below. No smoking or fire permitted between decks. JSTo fighting or loud 
wrangling to be permitted anywhere. He sees that the officers commanding 
companies detail their guards. Soudanese guards on either side of the deck, 
to prevent Zanzibaris crowding on the Soudanese quarters. A detail from 
each Zanzibari company to guard around second-class cabin at top of com- 
panion, to guard cooking fires, to look after the water, to see that the 
transport and riding and provision animals are fed and watered ; in brief, to 
see that every duty, great and small, that ought to be done for the general 
health and well-being of the Expedition is performed. For the petty details 
of such duties officers will apply to Commanding Officer A Company. 

8. The officer of the day should wear or carry a sword, and be distin- 
guished by a sash. He should report to me direct anything beyond his 
power to remedy, or for any instructions affecting the Expedition. 

9. Officers will consult their interests by paying deference to the lawful 
orders of the " officer of the day." 

Henry M. Stanley, 

Commanding Em in Pasha Relief Expedition. 

To-day I again administered some " Eno " to Tippu-Tib and 
the twelve members of his harem, who still continued to suffer 
from sea-sickness. Companies were told off. I have now 
charge of Troup's company, in addition to my own, till we 
get to the Congo. Company G is constituted for special 
service. 

I vaccinated sixty men, and looked to fifteen sick. Some 



22 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

of these have ulcers : one especially, a pronounced speci- 
men of the " irritable ulcer," which is situated on the inner 
malleolus (right ankle). 

The weather is not very warm now, but was very damp 
and close to-day. 

My servants' names are Muftah and Kondo-Bin-Jumar.* 
The latter is my gun-bearer. 

Feb. 27. — Sunday. — Thirty cases on the sick list. One of 
these is a case of pneumonia. I vaccinated fourteen Zanzi- 
baris. 

This being Sabbath Day, I was deputed to fulfil the general 
duties of clergyman, including the reading of prayers, &c. 
This first experience of the important office made me feel 
rather nervous. 

Feb. 23. — I vaccinated nine of our men. Felt very unwell ; 
the close atmosphere is very trying. No free circulation of 
air to promote evaporation from one's skin, and moderate the 
oppressive temperature; and so much moisture floating that 
the process would be a slow one, even with the freest renewal 
of atmospheric gases. The hygienic importance of latent heat 
was never more fully impressed on my mind than it has been 
during the course of this weary day. 

Mar. 1. — Took my turn as " orderly officer " ; was present 
at the distribution of rations at 5 a.m. At 9 a.m., saw all 
'tween decks cleared and cleaned. Went round with the 
Captain at 10 a.m. 

[Disinfectant powder was shaken all over 'tween decks, and 
this process was repeated afterwards on each succeeding 
day.] 

At 7 p.m. I saw all our men in bed, and all lights put out. 
A night visit had to be paid later on, to see that all was 
correct and everything quiet. 

I did not feel quite so seedy as yesterday ; the additional 
interest attaching to my extra duties enlivened me a little. 
The atmosphere is still, however, very oppressive. The odours 
of our various disinfectants fill the place, and they are not all 
of the variety which promotes sensuous gratification, but we 
can only console ourselves with the fact that without them, 
respiration would be very much less enjoyable than it is 
even now. 

* Translated, Sheep the son of Friday. 



-h lb. 
1 lb. 


(three times weekly J 
8 ounces. 


1 ounce. 


8 ounces. 

2 

4 „ 

4 „ 

2 „ 


1 ounce. 



1887.] FROM ALEXANDRIA TO CAPE TOWN. 23 

Mak. 2. — The daily rations of our men on board were 
portioned out as follows : — 

Meat .... 

Rice .... 

Sugar .... 

Biscuit .... 

Ghee .... 

Potatoes 

Fish .... 

Dahl .... 

Tea . . 

Curry stuffs (made from onions, chillies, turmeric, garlic and 

black pepper.) 
Salt ...... 1 ounce. 

The above represents a very substantial bill of fare, and 
there is no reason to be discontented with it. We can only 
hope that the supply will last till we find the unknown 
stranger of whom we are in search. 

I vaccinated three men w 7 ho came up voluntarily for the 
operation. 

The fact that the infection of our small-pox case did not 
spread I attribute entirely to the complete isolation, and tli3 
strict hygienic measures which have been carried out. Liberal 
distribution of disinfectant powder was practised on the 
Oriental as well as on the Madura. Although the infect- 
ing power of the small-pox virus is very great, still it can 
be thoroughly kept in check by a rigidly complete use of 
antiseptic precautions ; and the prompt adoption of vaccination 
has given, of course, an additional safeguard to our men and 
ourselves. 

Mae. 3. — I allowed the two "suspected" cases, which, up 
to the present, had been strictly isolated, to come down from 
the boat where they had been under observation, as there 
is no room for any anticipation of danger now. 

Vaccinated four men who came up voluntarily. 

We had very rough weather ; steamer rolling a good deal — 
(enough to make a great many cases of sea-sickness, and 
uneasiness sufficient to keep the majority in a state of dis- 
comfort. 

Mar. 4. — At 7 p.m. we passed Durban. 

A large proportion of the Nubians, Zanzibaris, and Somabs 
have had small-pox. There is no disputing the evidence of 
this fact which is furnished by their appearance. 



24 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

Mar. 5. — Another very rough day. The waves dashed 
quite across the deck, drenching everything in their course,, 
including our poor donkeys and goats, which seemed to like 
the process even less than ourselves. 

Sick list includes about twenty of the men ; one of these is 
a case of dysentery. The case is not, however, a very severe 
one. I do hope that we will not have too much of this 
disease when we come to march across the "Dark Conti- 
nent," as an epidemic of it would be a fearful plague, and it 
is so likely to appear in malarious districts when men are 
exposed to much privation. 

I had only sixty tubes of lymph to start with ; therefore I 
at first vaccinated only those who never have had small-pox,, 
or were never vaccinated before. Most of the others I vacci- 
nated from those who had taken successfully. I purpose con- 
tinuing this practice, as I cannot obtain another supply of 
lymph now, and it will be, of course, as effective — probably 
more reliable. A large proportion of our Zanzibaris have 
been already vaccinated, comparatively recently, and a good 
many of them have had small-pox. I must take every pre- 
caution against the disease, for Africans generally appear to 
be very prone to it, and I know that some of the highest 
authorities on epidemiology affirm dogmatically that Central 
Africa is the true home of small-pox, just as Bengal notoriously 
is of cholera. 

Mae. 6, Sunday. — At noon we passed Port Elizabeth (Algoa 
Bay). 

The past night was very stormy. All ports had to be 
closed, and the donkeys slung. Some rain fell subsequently. 

Prayers were read by Jephson. He performed his clerical 
duties with commendable religious gravity. 

Mae. 7. — Attended to about fifteen sick. After going my 
rounds I mentioned to Mr. Stanley that there were three or 
four of this number whom I did not expect to be able to 
march after lauding, and that I thought it would be well to 
leave them behind. 

Wrote letters, one of which was to J. K. of the 60th Eifles, 
to say that his brother's tombstone had arrived at Zanzibar. 



CHAPTER II. 

FROM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLDYILLE, VIA BANANA POINT. 

Accident to one of Tippu-Tib's Zanzibaris— Our reception at Cape Town — ■ 
Letter from Surgeon- General Faught — My sick patients on board ship — ■ 
Conclusion of the work of vaccination : remarks thereon — Packing 
together my baggage and medicines for the march. — Deaths from pneu- 
monia and heat-apoplexy — We arrive at the mouth of the Congo — 
Zanzibari burial service — Banana Point Cemetery — The Congo Paver at 
Ponta da Lenha — Boma — Camp at Mataddi — A recovery from brain 
concussion — Carelessness of the Zanzibaris as regards their invalids- 
Some cases of sunstroke — - Tbe start for Leopoldville — Crossing the 
Mposo River — Palabal la Mission Station — The march to Congo la 
Lemba — Fording the Bembezi River — Illness of Mr. Stanley — Kind 
entertainment at Banza Manteka — I lose my waterproof coat in crossing 
the Kwilu River — Heavy rains — Delays caused through the straggling of 
the Zanzibari carriers — Mutinous attitude of our Nubians at Lukungu 
Station — Some rifles missing — Fever among the Somalis — We bridge 
the Npoko River — A provoking misadventure — Major Barttelot and the 
Soudanese — The African elephant— Arrival at Lutete Mission Station — 
Ivory caravans — A native market — By the aid of the steel-boat Advame 
we cross the Inkissi River — An unpleasant drenching, causing subse- 
quent illness — We reach Leopoldville — Engagement of the Upper Congo 

i • River steamers — Visits and presents from local chiefs — Major Baittelot 
and I, with our companies, embark on the stern-wheeler Stanley — ■ 
Chihwanga or native bread — Palavers with native chiefs in order to 
obtain guides — Incidents of the march to Mswata — We employ our time 
by cutting wood for the steamers. 

Mae. 8. — We arrived at Simon's Bay at 9 a.m. The agent 
of the B.I.S.S. Co. came on board and brought with him 
some telegrams and letters — one from the Royal Naval 
Club, making Mr. Stanley and his officers all honorary 
members. At 3 p.m. we went on shore. I saw the papers at 
the club, having by this time developed considerable curiosity 
to know what is going on in the civilised portions of the 
earth. 

Mae. 9. — One of Tippu-Tib's men, a fine young Zanzibari 
of about twenty-two years of age, met with a bad accident last 
night. He fell — somewhere about 3 a.m. — from the top of 
one of the deck-houses ; and, when picked up, was quite un- 



26 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

conscious. When I saw him he was suffering from symptoms 
of concussion of the brain ; his face was a good deal bruised 
and swollen, and he was bleeding copiously from the lips 
and gums. There was no evidence of fracture or dislocation. 
I at once applied cold to his head, and gave him six grains 
of calomel, with five grains of James's powder. I also procured 
him some tea and milk, which I made him swallow, and placed 
him comfortably in bed. I was afraid of intracranial haemor- 
rhage, as the symptoms of concussion were not typically 
marked, but were somewhat mixed up with those of com- 
pression. The breathing was rather heavy, although not 
exactly stertorous, and the pulse more full than in a true case 
of pure concussion. We arrived at Cape Town at 7 p.m. 

Mae. 10.- — At 5.30 a.m. we raised anchor and came along- 
side a jetty for the purpose of coaling. 

Visited my patient, who still remained unconscious. 

A number of people came on board here to see Mr. Stanley, 
and have a look at Tippu-Tib, and the Expedition generally. 

I also received the following letter from the P. M. 0. (Deputy 
Surgeon-General Faught) : — 

" Dear Dr. Parke, 

" Can I be of any service to you in any way ? I really think that the 
best advice I can give you is to use quinine freely as a prophylactic ; certainly, 
with the Europeans of the Expedition. I quite heartily congratulate you on 
your good fortune in being appointed to the Expedition ; and it is also a 
cause of congratulation to our department that one of us has been selected. 

" Yours very truly, 

"J.G. Faught. 

" P. M. O.'s Office, 
" Cape- Town, 

" March 10th, 1887." 

[Deputy-Surgeon-General Faught had known Mr. Stanley 
some years before and was much interested in the Expedition.] 

I procured a considerable quantity of medicines, which I 
brought on board with me. Several ladies and gentlemen 
were introduced to Mr. Stanley and Tippu-Tib. 

I purchased, while on shore, some brass cartridges for my 
gun, a capping machine, and some lead to make bullets 
with. Mr. Walker, an English engineer, has also been 
taken on board, as an officer of the Expedition, to super- 



1887.] FROM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLD YILLE. 27 

intend the management of our steamers during the river 
voyage. This makes the number of Europeans up to ten at 
present. 

We left Cape Town at 5.30 p.m. — weather very rough. 
When leaving the jetty, the crowd cheered for Stanley ; and 
some soldiers — mostly members of the Medical Staff Corps — 
who were present recognized me, and gave me a farewell 
hurrah. 

Most of the members of the staff have brought dogs with 
them. Mr. Stanley himself sports two fox-terriers — one of 
them he calls Bandy. 

I had another accident to-day — a crushed finger, which I 
was obliged to amputate at the first joint, as there was no 
chance of saving it. I have now several bad cases on board — 
including dysentery, pneumonia, and accidents of various 
kinds. Some of the vaccinated arms are very sore still. I 
experience great difficulty in getting the sick men properly 
looked after : the attendants always walk away when my 
back is turned. Soup is always specially prepared in the 
galley for my patients, and I am obliged to sit by, and see it 
taken ; otherwise I could never be sure of their getting it. 
All our coloured friends seem to be very negligent of their 
disabled comrades ; it is an unpleasant characteristic, as they 
seem to be kind and companionable during the hours of 
prosperity. 

Mar. 12. — Weighed my baggage, and, to my great 
surprise and regret, found that it was over weight, so that some 
must be left behind. One of my cases (dysentery) was rather 
bad. A good number of cuts had to be stitched up during the 
day. There are great quantities of patent medicines, one of 
which, " Hippacea," is confidently recommended for cracked 
heels, spavin, splint, sore back, &c, &c. 

Tippu-Tib's man walked into the saloon in a delirious con- 
dition, completely deserted and neglected by his attendants. 
I gave him a sedative — xxx grs. of sodii bromicl., followed 
hj f gr. of morphia. He, poor fellow, is evidently suffering 
from acute encephalitis, following the reactionary stage of 
cerebral concussion, and will require the greatest care, which I 
will have great difficulty in procuring for him. 

I have now continued the work of vaccination till the 
operation has been performed — with the exception of a very 



23 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887, 

few who objected to it — on all the members of the Expedition, 
black and white, excepting those who presented well-marked 
scars of former small-pox, or of a former successful vaccinator.. 
Even those who had had small-pox in infancy, or early youth, 
were vaccinated. I also re- vaccinated those in whose cases a* 
long interval had elapsed since they had been successfully 
subjected to the same operation. The total number vaccinated 
was about 550. This included 7 of the 9 Europeans ; 2 Syrians 
(employed as interpreters) ; 10 Somalis (of the 13) ; 40 Nubians 
out of a total of (32) ; and nearly 500 Zanzibaris (of the total 
number of 623). Of these 550 cases, about half were vaccinated 
from the lymph which had been purchased by Mr. Stanley for 
the use of the Expedition ; the remaining half from the 
vesicles which had formed on the arms of their comrades. In 
the latter case, I, of course, utilised the best-developed vesicles 
for the supply. Our 62 Nubians had all been vaccinated before, 
as they had belonged to the Egyptian army, where the regu- 
lations required vaccination on enlistment. In choosing those 
to be re-vaccinated, I had all the men fallen in, and rejected 
those who presented good vaccination marks, or deep small- 
pox pits, and especially those who assured me that they had 
been recently vaccinated. They were all very willing to submit 
to the operation, and had commenced to come to me voluntarily 
for the purpose. I applied the same rule to the smaller 
number of Somalis. A very considerable proportion of the 
Zanzibaris have had small-pox ; more than a fourth of the 
total number vaccinated present distinct scars left by the 
disease. I vaccinated only those in whose cases a long interval 
had elapsed since they had suffered from it. 

The net result of the total number of operations was that 
about one-half were fairly successful. Of the other half some 
developed small abortive vesicles at once ; but a large pro- 
portion showed no signs whatever after the first trial. These, 
however, I re-vaccinated, some of them several times over, till 
I succeeded in obtaining some small result — enough to show 
that a little, at least, of the lymph had been absorbed. 

I am disposed to attribute the large proportion of complete 
failures, and the repetition of the operations which were found 
necessary in so great a number of my cases, to the effects of 
the tropical heat and parching winds, which tend to dry up the 
lymph rapidly, before it has time to be absorbed. This has 



FROM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLD VILLE. 29 

been already noticed by many high authorities on meteorology 
•and hygiene, and I learned from Dr. Hussey, of Zanzibar, that 
an enormous proportion of failures occur among the vaccinations 
performed in Zanzibar and the adjacent parts of the African 
•coast. By persevering, I did, however, after repeated trials, 
in some instances succeed in getting slight definite results, 
indicating at least a partial amount of protection in these cases. 
A small vesicle, followed by the formation of a minute crust, 
appeared in these troublesome specimens. 

In order to ascertain the value of the operation in some of 
the more doubtful cases, I took many opportunities of applying 
■"Bryce's test" for a successful vaccination. This simply is, 
re-vaccinate on the fifth day ; if the primary operation has 
been successful, the second vesicle (necessarily smaller) will 
reach its full stage of development as soon as the first — they 
will both undergo the characteristic changes on the eighth clay. 
This rule I have often seen to hold good. 

[Of the preservative effects of these vaccinations a crucial 
i:est was supplied at a later period in the history of the Ex- 
pedition.] 

Mae. 13, Sunday. — Jameson read the service for the 
•day. As I was so often called up at night, I asked Mr. Stanley 
io add an order to the " General Orders " already issued, direct- 
ing that all sick should be paraded at 11 a.m. while on board 
ship, and at 5.30 a.m. when on shore ; also, at my request, my 
recommendations of 16th Feb. were copied into the " General 
Orders." 

One of our female donkeys died in parturition. 

JSl ar. 14. — One of our men died. He had made no 
attempt to rally from the exhaustion produced by dysentery, 
although all hasmorrhage had ceased for three days. 

The day was very calm, temperature 73° F. There was 
no land in sight, but there were a great many birds flying 
about. 

In the afternoon, the temperature 'tween decks was 97° F. ; 
where the men sleep, on deck, it was 84° F. 

Mar. 15. — Spent the day packing up medicines, and 
endeavouring to squeeze the contents of six boxes into four 
loads. There is no linseed-meal in our Expedition stores, 
;so I helped myself to some of the ship's store. 

Mar. 16. — A death from pneumonia. This patient had also 



oO EXPERIENCES IX EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1837. 

been one of Xelson's Company ; his name was Marzouk Bin 
Ali. Several other members of this company are suffering from 
bronchial affections. I believe that this is principally due to 
the fact that they are quartered so near the engines ; it 
is, of course, very hot there, and when they go up on deck 
thev set chilled. This is easv to understand, as the difference- 
of temperature is fully 20° ; below, the temperature is usually 
94° F., while at the top of the gangway, in the open, 
it is but ~4r F. It is with the greatest difficulty that they 
can be kept out of their quarters, although a sentry is placed 
on guard at the top of the companion. 

On this day I found the temperature at 100° F. below, 
while the thermometer where the men sleej:) on deck registered 
but 90°. 

3Iae. 17. — Spent a good part of the day in packing up my 
kit. Our maximum weight of baggage is 180 lbs., and the 
endeavour to squeeze my necessaries into this limit I found 
a rather fatiguing task. Could not with all my trouble manage- 
to do it, so I had to send back manv things, and get 35 lbs. 
of ammunition for my hammerless breechloader carried by 
another. 

At 10 A.M. the temperature between decks was 100' F. ; at 
the same time it was 80° F. on the upper deck. So the work 
of arranging and packing made one feel pretty warm. I 
have succeeded in getting nearly all the medicines into four 
boxes (of 60 lbs. each) — my maximum allowance of weight. 
The supply of dressings is very limited, so is that of my tonic- 
medicines. 

3Ir. Stanley selected the cooks, and gave each officer a 
saddle for his donkey. I had brought my own saddle from 
Alexandria. 

Mae. 18. — Sarboko Makatubu, a Zanzibari, died to-day of 
heat-apoplexy. The attack followed a two-hours' exposure to 
the sun — in the morning, while washing his clothes. He had 
felt quite well in the early part of the day, but had been a 
little " seedy " the day before ; probably the effect of the- 
exposure was the more pronounced and the more rapid on 
that account. The temperature ran up very high, 109 p F. 
The skin was extremely dry and exhibited the characteristic- 
eahr mordax, so strikingly developed in pronounced cases- of 
insolation ; the breathing was heavy, and became slightly 



1887.] FROM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLDYILLE. 31 

stertorous, the pupils were extremely contracted, and the con- 
junctiva deeply injected; complete coma rapidly supervened, 
and death followed in a few hours. He was buried at Banana 
Point — by the mouth of the Congo River, where we arrived at 
10 A.M. The Zanzibaris make a long, narrow, deep grave — 
excavated on one side, close to the bottom. The corpse is then 
lowered and placed — the body on its right side — in this recess. 
Grass and sticks, or boughs of trees, are then placed over the 
body, and the grave is filled up with clay. The body is always 
wrapped in a clean white shroud. 

They chant their burial service hurriedly, and appear 
anxious to have the ceremony completed as rapidly as possible. 
These people seem to look upon death with a philosophic eye ; 
the}- know of no appeal from the unalterable decrees of 
Almighty Fate. 

I counted but three English tombstones in the cemetery :. 
W. H. Sexton, M.D., Blessington Street, Dublin ; Dean, an 
engineer with 3Ir. Stanley's former expedition ; Sooks, a bov 
of nineteen. The cemetery is the first object of interest which 
the enterprising adventurer sees when he lands at the Congo's 
mouth — a cheery introduction to one of the most unhealthv 
parts of Africa. "We found that the largest of the steamers. 
which had been appointed to convey us up the river to Mataddi 
— as far as the cataract — was stranded hard and fast on a sand- 
bank. 

Mar. 19. — Xelson and Jameson embarked with 250 men — 
on S.S. Serpa Pinto, and K. A. Nieman — at 9 A.M. The Serpa 
Pinto belongs to one of the Dutch trading companies. I went 
on board the Albuquerque (Captain Robert Howe) with 124 
men, Uledi, my chief, Walker (an English engineer), mv two- 
gun-bearers, and a heavy cargo of Expedition goods. This- 
steamer belongs to an English trading company. 

We started at 10.15 a.m., and arrived at Ponta da Lenha atr 
11.30 A.M. This is an extensive factory station — English.,. 
French, and Dutch. It seems a place likely to have a future- 
before it, and will probably grow rapidly,, as the trade of 
Africa develops and the ingress of civilising influences- is 
facilitated. 

At this point the three streams of the Congo — which are 
separated by islands as we ascend the river — unite into a 
single (narrower) one, which thence passes on to its termina- 



32 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [L8S7. 

tion in the Atlantic. At the mouth, between Banana Point and 
Sharks' Point, the breadth of the river is but six miles ; above 
Ponta da Lenha, before the union of the three constituent 
streams, it measures twenty miles from bank to bank. 

In this interval both banks of the river are beautifully green 
and richly wooded. The Congo is remarkable as being the 
second largest river in the world, with 8000 miles of navigable 
water ; and its velocity is so great that fresh water has been 
found 240 miles out to sea. 

One of Jephson's men died. He had suffered from 
bronchitis ; and was also the subject of an old-standing 
dislocation of the elbow. We are getting a good many 
chest cases now; the difference of temperature above and 
below deck is very marked ; and the sudden fall of the 
thermometer, following the vertical sunset of sub-tropical 
climes, produces many chills, especially among persons of the 
reckless habits of the Zanzibaris. 

We reached Boma at 6.30 p.m. This place is situated 63 
miles from the sea. The head-quarters of the Congo Free 
State officials are situated here. We are naturally interested 
in the place, forming as it does the great centre of one of the 
most important of the life-works of our leader. The position 
is now interesting, both geographically and historically. 

Mr. Stanley followed in the S.S. Heron. 

Mab. 20. — We left Boma at 6 A.M. The stream just above 
is about 1 200 yards wide, and is excessively rapid. The banks 
are very precipitous, so much so as to approach the perpen- 
dicular ; and, accordingly, the view is very limited. 

I distributed rations at 6.30 a.m., and reached Ango-ango at 
11.30 a.m. 

One of the men of Jephson's Company, Mwana Bin Ali, died 
to-day of acute bronchitis. He had a very weak heart, a com- 
plication which determined the fatal result ; so weak, indeed, 
that he would never have been able to travel with us, even if 
he had not been attacked with any acute disease. 

Mar. 21. — I marched 117 men — with their kits — from Ango- 
ano-o to Mataddi, a distance of 7 miles. Xelson brought about 
the same number. We left Jameson and Walker to look after 
the baggage, and come up by steamer in the evening. 

On arriving at 3Iataddi, we pitched our tents and formed a 
camp. We then unloaded the steamers, which arrived soon 



1887.] FROM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLDVILLE. 33 

after us. A Portuguese guu-boat arrived at 4 p.m., with. Stairs 
aud Barttelot on board. 

Tippu-Tib's man, who had suffered from concussion of the 
brain — with subsequent delirium and other complications — 
was now discharged to duty, being quite well. It was a very 
auspicious termination to an extremely dangerous case. He 
had suffered from mingled symptoms of concussion and com- 
pression of the brain, followed by acute encephalitis, which 
were made all the more formidable by the neglect of his 
comrades, on whom he had to depend for nursing and 
attendance ; and also by the want of the requisite repose, 
which was made impossible by the movements of travelling, 
and the very limited accommodation on board steamer. 

Mar. 22. — I was told off by Mr. Stanley to transfer the rice 
into small bags, which were not to exceed 70 lbs. weight each ; 
also to send off the loads by carriers to Leopoldville. The 
others were also hard at work immediately on arrival, as we have 
now to fit up everything into loads of about 60 lbs., for the 
march to Leopoldville (Stanley Pool), which is 235 miles off. 

There are a good many sick now, chiefly from chest affec- 
tions. The Zanzibaris are not at all good to their invalids ; 
I found four of the worst cases left lying down without 
blankets, which should have been simply handed to them by 
their comrades, as one blanket was given to each man before 
leaving the Madura. 

Mar. 23. — Mr. Stanley added eight men to my company. 
Maulim Bakari of F. Company, which is also under my charge, 
died of sunstroke. This case, and the fatal one of the 18th 
inst., are the first cases of sunstroke I have now seen for a con- 
siderable interval. Strangely enough, I have seen a much 
greater number of men knocked clown with sunstroke at Alder- 
shot during one day in 1881, than I have had an opportunity 
of seeing during all my African experience. 

Eemington rifles were distributed to the men ; fifty Winches- 
ters were also distributed to the officers and picked men. We 
also received a revolver and water-bottle each. I did not take 
one, as I preferred an old campaigning bulldog of my own,, 
which I had used on the Bayuda desert march in '85. 

Mar. 24. — Mr. Stanley added ten more men to my com- 
pany, which now numbers sixty-one. 

Hari Balyousi and Abdallah — both of Nelson's Company — 



3£ EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

died, one of acute bronchitis, complicated by failure of cardiac 
action ; the other of pneumonia. Both cases had contracted 
their fatal illnesses on board the steamer. 

The temperature under shade of verandah at Matadcli was 
98° F. The men were paraded at 6 a.m., and continued to 
work all day. 

I put 185 large bags of rice into the Congo Free State store- 
houses. 

A riding donkey was given to each of us. 

Mae. 25. — One of Stair's men, Khoma, died of peritonitis — 
the result of an injury to the abdomen. 

The caravan marched from Mataddi to Mposo, two hours. 
The ground over which we passed was undulating, and not 
difficult for marching ; but many of the men were drunk, and 
all were loaded. Before starting, each of us had to throw 
away something — article of kit, or some provisions — so as to 
get down the individual weight to the regulation amount of 
60 lbs. per load. Everything has to be carried on men's 
heads. Accordingly many hundreds of pounds' worth of 
valuables of various kinds were rejected, or left in store. I 
loaded my donkey as well as I could, still I was obliged to 
throw away a number of things — among others, some of 
" Jameson's oldest," which he had kindly given me. 

Fourteen sick men were left behind with Lieutenant Baert, 
C.F.S. officer at Mataddi, with directions that they are to be 
sent on after us, as soon as they are able to march. We left for 
their use some rice, syrup of the hypophosphites, and sulphate of 
magnesium. I pointed out the cases, and impressed on him 
that what they most required was feeding. 

We crossed the Mposo river in canoes ; the operation was 
tedious and troublesome, but no very untoward accident 
occurred ; so that, beyond the delay caused by the obstruction 
of another stream, there is nothing special to record. 

In the evening, after halting for the nio'ht, we were ordered 
to give the men some musketry instruction and ball practice. 

Mar. 26. — We marched from the Mposo river to Palaballa, 
leaving at 5 a.m., and arriving at noon. 

My donkey fell down when I tried to mount, as he has been 
greatly reduced in condition by his sea- voyage. 

We enjoyed a hospitable luncheon at the Mission, with Mr. 
and Mrs. Clarke, and Mr. and Mrs. Ingham. Mr. Ingham has 



1887.] FROM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLDVILLE. 35 

been working in the service of the Expedition, collecting 
porters on the Lower Congo. 

Mae. 27. — We again stayed for the night at the Mission 
Station. 

One man had died on the way. 

Mae. 28. — We left Palaballa at 5.30 a.m., and marched 
twelve miles to Banza Manteka. The ground was fairly level, 
beautifully green, and picturesquely studded over with clumps 
of trees. It is well watered, but every specimen of water 
which we could procure for drinking was very muddy — looked 
painfully like cafe-au-lait. 

The sun was extremely hot, and we all felt it severely. 
Several of the men sickened from sheer exhaustion — being in 
extremely bad training for over-exertion of this kind, after 
their idleness and stall-feeding on board ship. Many of 
them have also become knocked-up with sore feet by the 
marching. Four of the worst cases were left behind at Pala- 
balla — to be sent on by the missionary when they have 
recovered. 

The men of my company conveyed their loads to camp — all 
correct. 

Mae. 29. — Started at daybreak, and arrived at 1 p.m. at 
Congo la Lemba, where we camped for the night. I was on rear- 
guard. The march was only eight miles ; our column some- 
times stretched over two miles. 

On the way, one of the men had the calf of his leg deeply 
laid open by an accidental hatchet-stroke. I staunched the 
bleeding by securing the open vessels, and closed the wound 
with eleven sutures. He then continued the march, as I had 
bound up the limb so as to secure a fair degree of comfort, and 
we had no means of transport. He felt fairly well after the 
operation : there was no pain to speak of about the wound ; and 
the latter, although a deep and long one, did not quite reach 
the posterior tibial vessels, so that the haemorrhage was from 
the smaller branches, and not sufficiently copious to cause 
much faintness after the oozing had been stopped. 

Mae. 30. — We were roused at daybreak ; rain had been fall- 
ing heavily, so that we did not start so early as usual. After 
some rice breakfast, I left camp with my company at 9 a.m. 
At the end of four miles we halted upon a swollen river, the 
Bembezi. The current was extremelv rapid, and the effects of 

d 2 



36 EXPERIENCES IX EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887, 

the recent rain were shown in the numbers of branches of trees, 
&c, which were being carried down by the stream. Under 
Mr. Stanley's directions, a double rope was stretched across 
the river from bank to bank, and the loads were passed across 
from hand to hand, the bearers holding on with one hand by 
the fixed rope — and standing shoulder deep in the water. 
The donkeys were made to swim across, being guided by 
Zanzibaris, who swam in front of them. Two of the more 
weakly of the donkeys made a very poor attempt at swimming, 
and were nearly drowned. 

By 5 p.m. the entire column had crossed — the transit having- 
lasted five hours — commencing at noon. We then continued 
our march till 9 p.m. During the last hour or two we found 
great difficulty in groping our way through the forest, as it 
was pitch dark. I, fortunately, had a candle, given me by 
Tippu-Tib, which I utilised ; so I was able to get along. 

I am obliged to sleep in my wet clothes, so that I do not 
feel very well pleased with my experiences of the Expedition. 
We are, fortunately, pretty well sheltered ; otherwise we should 
be chilled to the bone. 

Gave Mr. Stanley 10 grs. of pulv. Doveri, as he felt ill after 
the march. No medicine-boxes have yet arrived in camp, the 
bulk of the column not having come up. 

Mae. 31. — By daybreak three-fourths of the column had 
emerged from the forest ; so we then started and marched to 
the Mangola river, which we found spanned by a primitive 
wire-suspension bridge. Immediately after crossing, about 
10 A.M., Mr. Stanley was attacked by very violent cramps, 
complicated by some dysenteric symptoms. I gave him 
v. grs. of pil. plumbi c. opio, and had him carried to the 
next camp, as he was almost pulseless and quite blanched. 
He is still very faint and weak, and requires very careful 
nursing. The attack was exactly like the commencement 
of cholera. 

We arrived at our next camp about 11 a.m. Mr. Stanley 
was so completely prostrate that he required a good deal of 
attention. I gave him some rice-milk, with beef-tea and 
arrowroot, at intervals. I also administered v. grs. of pulv. 
Doveri. 

Apeil 1. — Our leader was much better to-day — so much so, 
that, after being carried in a hammock for about three-fourths 



1887.] FROM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLDVILLE. 37 

of the day's march, he was able to ride his donkey for the 
remaining fourth of the way. Heavy rain had fallen in the 
morning. We halted for the night at the American Mission 
Station at Banza Manteka, where we were hospitably received 
and entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Kichards, and Dr. Small. 
Our movements, up to the present, would seem to be under 
very favourable auspices : I only hope that they may continue 
as such. Kindly faces meet us at every station, and the warm 
wishes of the civilised portion of humanity appear to be 
altogether with us. 

The water-supply at this station is of very bad quality, and 
is situated a long way off. 

April 2. — Very heavy rain fell this morning, which pre- 
vented us from starting till 8 A.M. As we moved on, the day 
brightened, and was quite fine by 10 a.m. Mr. Stanley sent 
Jephson with the sections of our steel-boat — the Advance — and 
the boat's crew of Zanzibaris, accompanied by six Somalis, down 
to the Congo, with directions to row up and meet us at Stanley 
Pool. Five sick men were left with Dr. Small. One of these 
is a hopeless case, and cannot live long. The other four have 
each a good chance of recovery, but were quite unable to 
proceed with the Expedition. Two bags of rice were left to 
provision them. 

I was in charge of the rear-guard. We marched over a 
rather picturesque country till about 3 p.m., when we halted 
for the night. Throughout the greater part of our march the 
grass on either side of the path reached above our heads, 

April 3. — Yery heavy rain again this morning ; which pre- 
vented us from starting so early as we had intended. We left 
our camping-ground about 6.30 a.m., and continued our march 
till 5 p.m. We did a good day's work, the Expedition passing 
by the Lunionzo river. 

April 4. — We left camp early, and reached the Kwilu river 
about 2 p.m. The stream is about 50 yards wide, with a very 
strong current. We at once commenced to cross the stream 
in a " dug-out " canoe, which was found lying on the bank 
without an owner. It carried eleven men with their loads, 
and three Somalis, who directed it, and was pulled backwards 
and forwards across the river by means of a rope made fast 
on either bank. I met with a piece of ill luck here; my 
gun-bearer dropped my waterproof coat into the stream, and 



38 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

it was instantly swept away, beyond hope of recovery, by the 
rapid current. 

Some Zanzibaris swam across : all the Soudanese and all the 
donkeys did likewise. The Somalis are very quick and expert 
in all their movements connected with ferrying, swimming, 
diving, &c. They present, in this respect, a great contrast to 
the vast majority of the members of the other nationalities 
who go to make up our Expedition. 

April 5. — The transit of the Kwilu still occupied us till 
about 2 p.m. Heavy rain then came r down in torrents, and 
effectually prevented us from continuing our march. However, 
we had now an opportunity of seeing how fortunate it was that 
we had crossed before this rain ; for the stream became very 
quickly swollen, and very much more rapid, carrying down huge 
boughs of trees in great numbers, so that it would have been 
difficult, and, indeed, extremely dangerous, to attempt crossing. 
Tippu-Tib and his numerous attendants were also conveyed 
across without misadventure. 

April 6. — We marched at daybreak, and halted early. One 
of our Zanzibari chiefs (named Khamis Bin Athman) was 
shot dead by a native as he tried to enter his house — to steal 
food, &c. However, the homicide was shot dead in his turn ; 
some say by one of the Zanzibaris ; others say by Tippu-Tib's 
A.D.C., and brother-in-law, Salim. One of Tippu-Tib's men 
had his left hand penetrated by a slug, which shattered the 
bones into small pieces. This I wished to treat by immediate 
resection, or amputation ; but the patient objected, and would 
not submit to the operation. 

Mr. Stanley distributed fifty rounds of ammunition to each 
European, five rounds to each Somali, and two rounds to each 
Zanzibari. 

I took over the mess arrangements from Jameson. 
April 7. — To-day Mr. Stanley decided that it was necessary 
to enforce a stricter discipline, as the stragglers were continu- 
ally wasting our time in trying to keep them up, and the 
history of the previous day had demonstrated that they were 
commencing to make the worst possible use of their opportuni- 
ties. The number of desertions since we left Matadcli now 
amounted to about thirty, and the straggling and pilfering 
were becoming intolerable. Accordingly, Mr. Stanley decided 
to ride in the rear of the caravan, which made a very happy 



1887.] FBOM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLBVILLE. 39 

difference in our day's progress — after a few examples had been 
made by whipping in the incorrigible loiterers. Whatever 
may be said or thought at home by members of philanthropic 
African societies, who are so anxious about the extension of the 
rights of humanity, there is no getting an expedition of Zanzi- 
bari carriers across this country without the use of a fair amount 
of physical persuasion. In its absence they become utterly 
reckless, and soon forget all discipline. 

I was now handed over Jephson's company for a few days, in 
addition to my previous charge : an arrangement which gave 
me plenty of occupation — independently of my professional 
work, and my functions as mess-caterer. 

Apeil 8. — We left our camping -ground (at Yombo) pretty 
early, and marched about 12 miles to Lukungu, where we 
arrived at 5 p.m. The ground over which we passed to-day was 
partly flat and partly undulating. 

Stairs's donkey had its leg broken in descending a steep 
bank, and had to be shot. 

We dined at the Congo Free State Station, Lukungu. 
The Nubians had now finished their rations, which should 
have lasted them longer if they had been provident. Accord- 
ingly they thought proper to assume a very mutinous attitude. 
This roused Mr. Stanley, who had them drawn up in their 
places at once, and told them there and then that he would 
shoot the first man among them who dared to disobey orders. 
The interpreter, a Syrian, Assad Farran, said that he had 
joined the Expedition as interpreter, and should not be 
subjected to the same rules as the others ; but Mr. Stanley's 
reply was that his lot was cast with the Soudanese, and he 
must share their fate, whatever it was. Fortunately, the kind 
liberality of our hosts, Messrs. Francqui and Dessauer, had led 
them to provide for our benefit a large supply of African food, 
sufficient to satisfy our whole Expedition for four days. In 
presence of this benevolence, mutinous thoughts and language 
were more easily suppressed. 

Apeil 9. — We remained all day at Lukungu. Had break- 
fast with the C.F.S. officers. This was followed by a general 
parade. My three companies numbered as follows : — D, 96 ; 
F, 66 ; G, 55. Several rifles were found to be missing. 

Eations for seven days, sufficient to bring us to Stanley 
Pool, were now served out. Barttelot was then sent on before 



40 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

us with the Soudanese and some Zanzibaris, as he understood 
a little Arabic. 

There was a general invitation to the officers to dine at the 
C.F.S. station ; but I was unable to go on account of the 
number of sick on my hands. Mr. Stanley told me that I had 
lost ten rifles, but this was in excess of the actual number. 

April 10. — Easter Sunday. We left Lukungu at 8 a.^i. 
Yery soon after starting we had to ford a river. 

I was again " pulled up " about the loss of rifles. Mr. Stanley 
told me I had lost nineteen rifles, so that by going on in the 
same ratio I will have lost all the rifles of the Expedition 
long before we reach our destination. This is not a very 
inspiriting reflection. We are all working hard at our grammars 
and Kiswahili exercises, so as to be able to speak to the Zanzi- 
baris in their own language. 

The sun is very hot. Our arms are reddened, almost 
blistered, by the exposure, as we wear no coats now. Other 
cases of sickness occurred to-day : Nelson, among others, whom 
I was obliged to dose for a bad attack of diarrhoea. Two men, 
who were quite unable to proceed, it was decided to leave 
behind. Six of the seven Somalis who are with us were 
attacked with fever to-day ; also five of Jephson's detachment 
of the Somalis, who were several miles off on the river. 
Certainly a remarkable coincidence. The temperature in each 
case was about 102° F. These Somalis seem to be less able 
to contend with marsh-miasm than the other members of the 
Expedition. I have no doubt that the explanation is that 
they had always lived on a dry and sandy soil around Aden, 
and the change into their present surroundings has been 
greater and more abrupt for them than for any of us. They 
will suffer much before they become acclimatised. It is very 
necessary to wear a Comerbuncl in the evening so as to prevent 
abdominal chills. 

We camped for the night at Kibamwanga. 

April 11. — We marched to the Mpoko River, which we 
reached at noon. There was a wicker suspension-bridge across 
the river, but it was too weak to be relied on ; so Mr. Stanley 
had two of the longest trees found growing near the bank, cut 
down, and allowed to fall across the river side by side. They 
were then lashed together with ropes, and a good bridge was 
in this way formed, over which the loads were safely passed. 



1887.] FEOM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLDVILLE. 41 

The donkeys, as usual, swam the current ; we were pretty well 
tired by the time all had crossed, so we proceeded to camp for 
the night close to the opposite bank. 

A provoking, although, indeed, somewhat ludicrous mis- 
adventure befel me here. Not expecting any sudden rainfall, 
we settled down for the night very close to the river's bank, 
and I suspended my hammock between two trees. Presently, 
the rain came down in torrents ; we were soaked through and 
through ; and, in a few hours, the stream had swollen and over- 
flowed its banks to such an extent that the trees to which my 
hammock had been secured now appeared to be in the middle 
of the river, and some of my clothes had been washed away. 
A new lesson in the practical aspects of African exploration ! 

In the evening, our leader asked me to his tent to have a 
cigar, and we conversed on the various topics suggested by 
the progress of the Expedition. We discussed the question 
which had been raised of Major Barttelot's having threatened 
to shoot Uledi, but decided that it was not meant for earnest ; 
also rumours about the European provisions having been 
tampered with, which were false. 

April 12. — We were roused at 5.15 a.m., and the men soon 
began to march, but, as I was the officer on rear-guard, I did 
not leave the camping-ground till 8 A.M. We arrived at 
Lutete at 5 p.m., having had nothing to eat or drink on 
the way. This slow progress was due to the bad marching of 
the Soudanese, who had had a day's start of us, under charge 
of Major Barttelot. We caught them up on the way, and they 
would not push on, till I threatened to take their rifles, which 
had some effect in quickening their steps. 

Jephson met us, and reported the death of one of his Somalis 
— the others were weak and weary. Mr. Stanley gave direc- 
tions to have soup served out to each of them at once. Kice 
was distributed to every man, sufficient for the distance to 
Stanley Pool (about eight or nine days' march ahead). 

Barttelot found it impossible to keep ahead of us with his 
Soudanese ; Mr. Stanley asked me would I take charge of 
them, but I preferred not trying the experiment, and prayed to 
be excused. 

Elephants and antelopes abound in this part of the country. 
The African elephant moves in his native haunts with a 
degree of nimbleness and agility which is quite astounding 



42 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

when seen for the first time by Europeans, whose previous 
experience of the animal has been derived from the commercial 
specimens of the menagerie, or those confined in the Zoological 
Gardens. I Avas not at all prepared for it. 

Apkil 13. — We reached the Lutete Missionary Station, where 
we were able to make onrselves comfortable and dry our clothes. 
The station is situated in an attractive neighbourhood ; beauti- 
ful tropical plants abound in the surrounding valleys. 

There was a hot dispute between the Soudanese and 
Zanzibaris on the subject of a cooking-pot. It assumed such 
proportions that Mr. Stanley found it necessary to interfere, 
which he did with so much vigour that both scrimmaging 
parties were soon reduced to peaceful silence. 

We received a good deal of kindness from the Baptist 
missionaries at this station. They are five in number. 
When leaving the station, I left two sick men behind who were 
entirely unable to proceed. They are suffering from inter- 
mittent fever. 

Apkil 14. — I slept very badly last night ; having but one 
blanket, I suffered greatly from the cold. My aneroid gave a 
reading of 2,000 feet above sea-level. 

We started early from our camping-ground, and made a 
pretty rapid march of 12 miles — over a flat, well-wooded, and 
well- watered district. Mr. Stanley remarked to me that it 
would be advisable to procure some medicines, if possible, 
from kindly friends on our way ; as the store we possessed was 
very likely to run short. I had got a 1 ]b. tin of vaseline 
from Dr. Small, of the American Mission. I lost one box of 
ammunition — about 500 rounds (Kemington). We halted for 
the night at a place called Nyangin. 

April 15. — We made a satisfactory march of 10 miles, to 
the Inkissi river. The surrounding scenery was very beautiful, 
and there was a gradual ascent amounting to 350 feet. We 
met two ivory caravans on the way, who were speeding 
towards the ocean, well laden with their valuable spoil. One 
tusk weighed 180 lbs. 

The natives on meeting us always say " Good morning," or 
"Bote," which means the same thing. On our march we 
came on a native market, where goats, bananas, cloth, &c, 
were exposed for sale ; but, when the sellers saw us approach- 
ing, they hastily packed up their commodities and ran off, as 



1887.] FROM CAFE TOWN TO LEOPOLDVILLE. 43 

they said they were afraid that our Zanzibaris would appro- 
priate their goods. We saw oue example of their ready 
method of dealing with theft and murder — a native who had 
been spiked on a post some time before, and his body 
remains there as a standing warning to evil-doers. At the 
end of the day Nelson and myself were both down in fever ; 
our respective temperatures being 104° and 103*4°. 

April 16. — Keveille at 5 a.m. Jephson, who had gone on 
ahead to launch the boat, was now ready to portage us across 
the Inkissi. Our boat divides into twelve sections ; and, plus 
the equipment, made loads for forty-one men. 

The loads were first conveyed across the stream, then the 
men ; the total process of transit occupied the whole day. The 
river was the broadest we have yet encountered ; so that, on this 
account, and, as the current was very rapid, our former 
stratagem of the rope could not be depended upon. Mr. 
Stanley took great personal trouble in the crossing ; remaining 
in the boat during the whole time, and attending to every 
detail in the transit of both men and goods. The donkeys 
were also conveyed in the boat. 

When everything was brought to the opposite side of the 
river we formed our camp for the night, quite close to the 
bank. Eice was then distributed — 2 lbs. to each man. 

April 17, Sunday. — We left our camp on the bank of the 
Inkissi Kiver. One of the peculiar things which attracted 
observation during the progress of the day's march was a 
snaring apparatus used by natives for catching birds. 

Barttelot took a wrong path with the Soudanese to-day, 
and has not yet returned. 

April 18. — We left our camp at 5.35 a.m., and marched 
about 10 miles through a country thickly wooded, and 
intersected by several small rivers. The trees are stunted 
in appearance. The last stream we crossed was con- 
siderably larger than the others ; and — worse luck — my 
donkey, which had safely conveyed me over the others, 
slipped and fell with me in crossing this stream. So I was 
thoroughly drenched, and many of my cartridges were 
spoilt. 

We camped for the night at Nkilama, where I removed my 
soaked apparel, and tried to make myself comfortable. The 
noise of the first cataract on the Congo — half-a-mile from 



44 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

our camp — is tremendous, and has a most awe-inspiring 
effect. 

I feel very seedy this evening — the accumulating results 
of wetting and fever. I had some surgical work with two of 
the Zanzibaris, who had been wounded by slugs, one in the 
calf of the right leg, the other in the left shoulder. I did not, 
however, succeed in removing the slugs. 

April 19. — I felt very seedy still; took no notes. 

April 20.— Ditto. 

April 21. — Eeveille at daybreak. We made a long and 
fatiguing march, which brought us to Leopoldville at noon. 
This is our embarking-place and ends our journey of 
235 miles from Mataddi, through one of the most unhealthy 
parts of the Congo State. I am delighted that the con- 
tinuous walking is over for a season, but new difficulties 
now face us in the outlook for our provisions, as a famine 
prevails in Leopoldville and the surrounding district, and 
very little food can be procured for our men. 

The village consists of a few rather primitive huts ; the 
inhabitants include about a dozen white men in all: 
missionaries, traders, and officers of the Congo Free State. 
There are three steamers, but only one of these — the Stanley 
— is available. This vessel is able to accommodate 150 
passengers. The American Mission steamer, Peace, was re- 
fused us, but afterwards given on certain conditions. In a 
similar way, the English Mission steamer, Henry Reed, was at 
first refused, but afterwards yielded to us. The latter could 

not be given, because her captain, the Kev. , is going to 

marry a wife and therefore cannot come. The Congo Free 
State officials then chartered her on behalf of Mr. Stanley. 
By these means we are now supplied with the entire available 
flotilla on the Upper Congo. 

The men made themselves comfortable grass-huts : by 
keeping an appropriate distance, and studying a convenient 
formation, they housed themselves very snugly indeed. 
[Many native chiefs visited Mr. Stanley during our stay. 
Ngalyema is the greatest swell among these.] 

I have been extremely seedy for the past few days, and 
could not ride my donkey, as he was loaded. Apart from this 
consideration I could not attempt to ride, as I was suffering 
from bilious remittent fever, with severe abdominal pain, &c, &c. 



1887.] FROM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLDVILLE. 45 

My tongue has been all the time coated with a thick, dry, 
black fur, the worst I ever saw. 

April 22. — I took a variety of medicines, changed my 
quarters from the hot tent to a straw-and-mud hut at the 
station nearer to the river (by kind permission of Lieut. 
Liebrichts, commandant), but experienced very little relief in- 
deed. I feel extremely prostrate, and can take no nourishment, 
except a little milk and arrowroot — everything more solid I 
attempted to swallow was at once rejected. A general parade 
was held to-day. I handed over my company to Bonny, as he 
was kind enough to take charge of it for me during my illness. 

A large number of our men are hardly able to walk from 
jiggers in their feet. 

April 23. — Mr. Stanley continued his arrangements about 
the steamers. I was compelled to remain in bed all day — 
utterly prostrate. 

April 24. — I got out of bed and managed to crawl to camp ; 
there was a great deal to do before starting, so I made a 
desperate effort to be about, as I was a little better, although 
still extremely weak. I received encouraging news from Mr. 
Stanley, who told me that Bonny's return of my company was 
the best of any; however, I discovered afterwards, to my 
great disappointment, that he had meant the neat and official 
way in which the return was made, and not the actual state 
of the company. I had lost four rifles ; but, as Stairs has 
handed in three spare ones, there is but one missing, and this 
was taken by a deserter. I managed to visit all the sick. 
In the afternoon I received orders from Mr. Stanley to leave 
— with Barttelot — in advance, in the stern-wheeler Stanley. 

As there were no rations in camp, Jameson was sent off to 
shoot hippo meat for the men. 

April 25. — I embarked on the Stanley, with F Co. (now 
sixty-seven strong), and my two gun-bearers and donkey. 
Barttelot also embarked with sixty Soudanese. We were pro- 
vided with a few boxes of brass rods (matako) — the money of 
the country. After steaming for five hours and a half, we 
reached an American Mission station, where we stopped. We 
were kindly received by these missionaries, and I ventured to 
eat some meat — for the first time for five days. 

We cut a good deal of wood on shore for the steamer, and 
had most of it conveved on board before the men retired for 



46 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA, [1887. 

the night. All our men slept on shore, close to the village of 
Mpoko. 

Barttelot felt feverish this evening: I found his temperature 
101° F. The American missionaries live chiefly on chilavanga — 
native bread or dough, which is not unlike " potato-cake," and 
is made from manioc root. The root is left macerating in water 
till it has become almost decomposed ; this process has the effect 
of removing the poisonous principles. It is then pounded up 
and made into bread. The natives live almost entirely on 
this diet; we shall be obliged to live on it by-and-by — a 
comforting reflection ! 

April 26. — We had the remainder of the wood carried on 
board, and steamed off at 7 a.m. I got very ill about 10 A.M., 
as I had been at work with the men since 4.30 a.m., and had 
got chilled. 

We stopped at 3 p.m. ; went on shore, and cut a large quan- 
tity of wood, to be used, like the rest, as fuel for the steamer. 
Barttelot's temperature this evening was the same as on last 
evening, 101° F. 

April 27. — Started at 6 a.m., and stopped at 9.30 a.m., 
near a village, where we all disembarked. The natives, 
on seeing us, all ran away into the bush, in great fright, 
evidently ; this demonstration was satisfactorily explained 
to us on learning that their village was, not very long ago, 
burnt by the C. F. S. officers for some misdemeanour — one 
of the advantages of having civilised neighbours ! In order 
to calm their apprehensions, we went on in front, unarmed, 
and accompanied by an interpreter. When they saw that we 
meant no harm to them they gradually returned, one by one ; 
and we had the customary " palaver " with the chief, who, after 
a little time, became quite confiding, and presented us with a 
goat and some bananas, as a token of friendship. We gave 
him, in return, thirty-nine matako, and we concluded our 
interview on excellent terms. By these friendly means we 
obtained the service of guides for the next day, and the men 
procured a supply of chikwanga. 

Barttelot and myself dined off my last box of sardines, and 
we retired to rest for the night, comparatively well and happy, 
at 7 p.m. 

April 28. — I took a look at my watch at 4.15 a.m., and 
commenced my elementary toilet. In about half an hour 



1887.] FBOM CAPE TOWN TO LEOPOLBVILLE. 47 

the bugler sounded the reveille. At daybreak we marched 
through the village and held another conference with the 
chief of the village before we obtained our guides. We then 
marched off, and got through twelve miles before noon. 

One of our men deserted on the way. We crossed a great 
number of tracks of the elephant, the buffalo, and the hippo. 

April 29. — We started at daybreak, and reached a village 
about 7 a.m., where we were obliged to stay about two hours 
diplomatising with the natives in order to obtain fresh guides, 
as our former ones had sulked and would come no further. 

We marched till 11.30 a.m., when we met a river, at which 
we camped, having learned that the next water-supply was 
four hours' march away. As it was still early we sent back 
to see if any trace could be found of the man who had deserted, 
but without result. Many of our Zanzibaris know this part of 
the world well, as they were employed on the Congo by Mr. 
Stanley, when he was Governor of the " Free State." Their 
knowledge has its good and its evil fruits. 

April 30. — We marched sixteen miles — about ten or twelve 
as the crow flies. We then halted at a morass, situated in the 
midst of a large open grass plain, where we got peaty water to 
drink. I shot a few pigeons, which we were very glad to eat. 
At the last village, three miles from the halting-place, the 
natives refused to let us know where the water was. 

Early in the day we crossed a very deep and rapid river, the 
banks of which were extremely precipitous. The bank on this 
(the eastern) side was about perpendicular, still my donkey 
clambered safely up, although I thought, as I approached it 
from the water, that it would have been quite impossible for him 
to do it. It certainly would have been to an English donkey — 
or an Irish one. 

The Soudanese march very badly — they are always lagging 
behind, and causing a great deal of trouble to bring them up. 

May 1. — Left at 5.30 a.m. and at 10 a.m. reached the large 
village of Mswata. Barttelot and myself interviewed the 
chief, who graciously accommodated us with huts, and also 
housed our men. He even presented us with a goat and a fowl 
in token of brotherly friendship. We purchased a supply of 
manioc [called mohoga in the Kiswahili dialect]. 

We are to remain here till Mr. Stanley arrives, and employ 
ourselves in the interval in chopping wood to provide fuel 



48 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

for our steamers. We expect him to arrive with the Expedition 
in a few days, en route for the Aruwimi. 

May 2. — We continued to cut wood all day. The men were 
divided into batches in doiug this work, and they went about 
in search of the fallen and withered trees, which were the only 
ones we could utilise, as the green timber of the fresh ones 
would not burn to advantage, being, of course, too juicy. The 
wood is like mahogany in consistence, but still harder, and 
brownish in colour — iron-wood I believe it is. 

We visited several chiefs, who received us in a friendly 
manner. One of them presented us with a goat and a fowl. 
Such presents have, however, by no means the same significance 
as in more civilised communities — they simply indicate the 
existence of a hope of receiving double the value in return. 
Mr. Stanley had a station years ago at Mswata ; but his kitchen, 
and another small house of European design, are the only traces 
of his sojourn that we found remaining. 

There is no lack of provisions here ; we, accordingly, 
utilised the favourable opportunity of fortifying ourselves 
against probable future starvation. 

May 3. — Early out of bed and vigorously at work; the 
absence of the hurry and worry of marching, and the presence 
of a well-stocked larder are telling visibly on the physique of 
all of us. 

May 4. — We expected the arrival of our leader. We had 
cut wood enough to work the three steamers for one day. I 
was to have gone after elephant and antelope for the day, but 
my promised guide did not turn up. Barttelot and myself 
are beginning to feel unwell to-day. I am afraid it is merely 
due to the sudden transition from scanty fare to rank over- 
feeding. 



( 49 ) 



CHAPTER III. 

THE RIVER JOURNEY PROM MSWATA TO YAMBUYA. 

Arrival of the steamers at Mswata — Kwamouth Station — Tobacco cultiva- 
tions — Elaborate hair-dressing of the men — Colour of the Kwa Kiver — 
Stalking game in the early morning — I shoot a hippo — The Stanley 
steamer — We reach Bolobo — My uncomfortable quarters on board the 
Henry Reed — Lukolela Mission Station — Illness of Jameson and Xelson 
— Zanzibari grievances — Profuse vegetation on the Upper Congo banks 
— The Mohammedan fast of Ramadan — Equator Station — The "Black 
River" — The natives of Uranga village — Entertainment at Bangala 
Station — Death of Fathel Mohammed — Our Somalis agiin ill — Orchids 
and monkeys in the forest— Hostile demonstration at Upoto — The rite 
of "blood brotherhood" — Stanley's epithet, "Bula Matari" — Upoto 
women — AYe enter the cannibal regions of the Upper Congo — Idols and 
ornaments of the natives — Collapse of the Stanley deck-houses — Grass 
fire adjoining our camp — The burnt village near Yalumbo — The Aruwimi 
Eiver — Stanley's black boy, Baruti — Canoes at Basoko — Warlike 
attitude of the natives — Arrival at Yambuya, where we land by 
stratagem — The native huts — Baruti and others desert us, returning to 
Basoko — Our camp is placed in a state of defence — Mr. Stanley's 
future plans — Manioc fields at Yambuya — Major Barttelot arrives with 
the Henry Reed — Tippu-Tib's station at Stanley Falls — Cutting fire- 
wood for the steamers — Our fortified camp — Lieut. Stairs sick; anxiety 
regarding his condition — Preparations for the march to Lake Albert 
Xyanza. 

3Iay 5. — The S.S. Stanley arrived at 11 AM., with a barge 
belonging to the Sanford Expedition lashed alongside, carrying 
altogether abont 350 men, including Stairs, Xelson, Jephson, 
and Jameson. Half an hour later, Mr. Stanley himself arrived 
in the Peace, accompanied by two boats, which conveyed Mr. 
Ward, with the Somalis and some Zanzibaris. Another hour 
and a half of expectation brought us the Henry Reed, accom- 
panied by two boats carrying Zanzibaris, and Tippu-Tib with 
his party. Bonny, and Walker, the engineer, were also on 
board. 

Jephson and Xelson were now ill ; so I treated them, 
and attended to the sick among the men. One man in 
Jephson's company died to-day. I put three sick men on 
board, in exchange for three of my own men, who asked to be 

E 



50 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

allowed to inarch. [This was the first and last occasion I have 
ever had an opportunity of seeing Mr. Ward.] 

Mat 6. — Mr. Stanley left early with the steamers. He 
gave orders to Barttelot and myself to continue our march to 
the mouth of the Kwa Eiver (about twenty miles off), and 
promised that the Stanley would return on the 9th to bring us 
to Bolobo, where he would remain with the whole force of the 
Expedition for a few days. My company is now sixty- 
seven strong ; Barttelot's fifty-eight. Accordingly, we moved 
off at 11 A.M. ; and, after a march of ten miles, halted at a 
village, where our principal transaction was the purchase of a 
couple of chickens, for five brass rods each. These brass rods 
(raatako) are about 22 inches long, of the thickness of an 
ordinary pen-handle, and easily bent into bangles and other 
ornaments to make the natives look smart. 

May 7. — We resumed our march at 5.30 a.m., and reached 
the mouth of the Kassai river, near a village named 
Kwamouth, a former station of Mr. Stanley's. The French 
missionaries occupy a house which was built by him during 
his residence here — it is the only one left of the older 
settlement. The missionaries entertained us most hospitably ; 
housed and fed us for the night, and also provided shelter for 
the men. This was very opportune, as rain fell very heavily 
during the night. 

In return for the kindness of the missionaries, we presented 
them with a goat, a chicken, and some rice and peas. 

May 8. — We cut wood for the Stanley and did some sewing. 
The missionaries continue to bestow their hospitality. 

I have noticed, since we left Leopoldville, that tobacco is 
cultivated in great quantities by the natives along our line of 
march, but does not grow wild. The women smoke their pipes 
much more constantly than the men. 

The men have their upper incisors removed, or filed down in 
the centre, so as to form a y^-shaped notch. Their hair is 
dressed up in a very elaborate fashion — a chignon-like mass is 
formed, with something inside it to preserve its shape. The 
women do not pay nearly so much attention to their hair as 
the men, and some of them let it grow completely wild. Some 
of the men wear a pair of liorns, formed by plaiting the hair so 
as to project laterally on either side above the ears, and a third 
hairy plait hanging from one side of the chin. Also, the men 



1887.] FROM MSWATA TO TAMBUYA. 51 

carry a wooden rest for the neck fin lying down), to prevent 
disarrangement of the hair. Some have their hair plaited right 
down on to the scalp, so that the plaits cannot be lifted up. 
The latter are most elaborately worked, and are well kept in 
their form and desired position by a cohesive mixture of castor- 
oil and filth of varied composition. 

May 9. — Were employed to-day also in cutting up wood for 
fuel. 

May 10. — We received a present this morning from a neigh- 
bouring chief, in the shape of a goat, a chicken, twelve cakes 
of chikwanga, a banana-leaf of manioc flour, and ten heads of 
Indian corn. As is customary, we made a present in return ; 
consisting of fifty matako — the value of one matako is three 
halfpence, wholesale. 

To-day my poor donkey has high fever, the effect of crossing 
the last river. He has had attacks of this kind several times up 
to the present, and always following the same cause. His tem- 
perature runs up very high, his hair stands on end, his ears^ 
droop, and he looks very miserable all over. Like master, 
like animal. I nearly always get fever myself when I wade 
a deep stream — a slight febricula has frequently followed 
even a cold bath since I commenced to cross Africa. So I 
have been obliged to make a rule to have my bath always 
comfortably tepid, i.e. when practicable. 

May 11. — Barttelot was feverish to-day. His temperature 
102*4° F. I have arranged to take a day's shooting as there 
are great numbers of game here. Early morning is a good 
time to get them, so I have determined to sleep in the bush 
to-night, and lie in wait near the water where they come to 
drink, as they do in the morning regularly. By following 
the trail of elephants they can be found standing asleep about 
noon — generally in the middle of the plain — and, by ap- 
proaching quietly, one can often get within twenty or thirty 
yards without disturbing them. 

The Kwa Biver is very much darker than the Congo. 
This is due to the fact that its water contains a very large 
quantity of suspended matter, making it very muddy indeed. 

May 12. — I was disappointed in my stalking this morning, 
after my night in the bush. We are now anxiously awaiting 
the return of the steamer for us. Barttelot was much better, 
as I had given him a great deal of quinine. We cannot, of 

e 2 



52 EXPEEIEXCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

course, guess the cause of the delay of the steamer, which was 
confidently promised us for the 9th ; perhaps an accident has 
occurred, as 3Ir. Stanley had anticipated a long shauri (palaver), 
or, peradventure, a row, with the natives, so that we have some 
reason to be uneasy. Our supply of matako is running short, 
and we have given another goat and some rice to the mission- 
aries. We determined that if the steamer has not arrived by 
to-morrow morning I am to go up river, with eight Zanzibaris 
and their rifles, in a canoe, and try to find out the cause of the 
delay. 

While out in a canoe this morning, I had a shot at a hippo, 
which passed through the ear. It sank when hit : this you 
must almost always anticipate, and sometimes several hours 
elapse before it floats to the surface. In the meantime it may 
be carried far down stream by the force of the current, so one 
has to wait and watch — with or without patience. The entire 
beast weighs about 2 tons ; the meat is greatly prized by the 
natives for food ; the hide is correspondingly useful in making 
shields, which protect the body from arrows in their tribal 
wars. 

While watching and waiting for the re-appearance of my 
wounded hippo, the Stanley came in sight, which relieved us 
of our principal anxiety. So I left my hippo to his fate. 

The chief of the neighbouring village came upon the scene 
to-day, and enjoyed a rather warm reception at our hands, as 
he has been long treating the missionary fathers in an 
extremely high-handed fashion. He was now frightened at 
unexpectedly meeting with our superior force. 

Pineapples grow in abundance here. 

3Iav 13. — We were actively astir in the early morning, as we 
have been in good spirits since the arrival of the S.S. Stanley 
dissipated our anxieties. All the wood was put on board, the 
men embarked, and we started at 6 A.M. for Bolobo. 

As the voyage progressed, I found myself passing into an 
increasingly bad humour, and very talkative, which I now 
know well are the premonitory symptoms of coming fever. 
At 5 P.M., my temperature was 102° F. ; at 7 P.M., it was 
105° F. I took 25 grains of quinine as an antipyretic 
dose. Shortly afterwards, in the sweating stage (6 P.M.), I 
very nearly made a " Humane " medal, as a man fell over- 
board, and on hearing a great fuss I rushed out of my cabin, 



1887.] FBOAI MSWATA TO YAMBUYA. 53 

and was about to jump into the river ; but, hesitating between 
discretion and valour, I afforded the submerged individual an 
opportunity of seizing a rope, with which he was hauled on 
deck. 

We stopped about 4 p.m., and went on shore to cut wood for 
fuel. We then camped for the night. 

May 14. — We continued our wood-cutting this morning, 
till about 7 p.m. I felt pretty well ; my fever had quite gone. 
Barttelot's temperature, however, still remained pretty high. 

We steamed off a little before 8 a.m., and arrived at Bolobo 
at 4.30 p.m. Barttelot and myself have now done over 
100 miles extra marching. 

After disembarking at Bolobo, I visited all the sick, both 
officers and men ; there were, of course, a number of new 
cases. 

May 15. — I was transferred to the Henry Reed, with thirty- 
five Zanzibaris. Tippu -Tib's party also came on board with us. 
It is now arranged that Barttelot is to remain at the pro- 
posed entrenched camp at Yambuya. Bonny and Ward were 
left at Bolobo with 131 men, to follow us in the Stanley after 
an interval of fifty days. She is to return for this purpose 
from Stanley Pool, and to bring with the men the remaining 
stores which we are now leaving behind. I left Bonny some 
medicines, instruments, and comforts, for which I got a receipt ; 
also a book of medical and surgical instructions. 

May 16. — 1 found extremely uncomfortable quarters on 
board the Henry Beecl ; as there is but one cabin, and this 
is occupied during the day by eleven filthy, dirty negresses 
of Tippu-Tib's harem. I am obliged to occupy this mal- 
odorous den by night, so I naturally spend as much time as 
I can on deck, to get the fresh air. I partitioned off one part 
of the cabin — for toilet purposes — by suspending a blanket. 

We stopped at 4 p.m., and renewed our wood-cutting 
operations. 

May 17. — Everybody came on board early, so there was 
a great deal of bustling. The order is that all persons con- 
nected with the Expedition are to spend the night on shore. 
All space was occupied, and the boats, which were lashed 
alongside the steamer, were crowded with men. We started 
at daybreak, and stopped at 4.30 r.M., at a very difficult 
landing-place. The trees grow down to the edge of the bank, 



54 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

and spread their branches a long way over the water, and, as 
the banks themselves have been pretty extensively undermined 
by the action of the current — leaving withered trunks of trees 
and snags above the projecting shelf, while crocodiles and 
hippo floundered in the mud below — the operation of landing 
was not only difficult, but dangerous. 

I assured Tippu-Tib that I would do what I could to make 
him comfortable, and recommended him to have his women 
washed. 

May 18. — Spent another uncomfortable day. We followed 
Mr. Stanley as well as we could — he steamed ahead of 
us in the Peace — till about 3 p.m., when we went aground. 
We then changed our course and made for an island, 
where we put up for the night, and cut wood. Since leaving 
Bolobo the river widens out, and in this part of its course 
has a width of about eleven miles. Traces of the elephant 
and the buffalo may be seen close to the bank here and 
there, while hundreds of hippo and crocodiles are visible 
every day. 

May 19. — We arrived at the Lukolela mission station, and 
found the Peace there, but no sign of the Stanley, so that 
everybody thought she must have met with an accident. 
The mission station consists of one straw hut, built close to 
the remains of a former C.F.S. station erected by Mr. Stanley. 
It belongs to the English Baptist Missionary Society. Two 
very agreeable white missionaries live here, in solitary inno- 
cence of what is going on in the civilised world, contentedly 
devoting their energies to the conversion of their negro 
neighbours. 

Our leader is, as usual, very reticent. He gave orders to 
the captain of the Henry Reed to get up steam, as he said he 
wanted to go down river in search of the Stanley. However, 
he afterwards started in the Peace at 4 p.m., but in an hour 
had sighted the Stanley, and returned with her at 6 p.m. 

May 20. — Jameson and Nelson were suffering greatly from 
an attack of acute gastro-intestinal catarrh. This is a very 
usual ailment of the white man in sub-tropical Africa, and 
often simulates dysentery rather closely; but it differs from 
true dysentery in the fact that the large intestine is not so 
much affected — it does not proceed to ulceration — and there 
is no tenesmus. I gave them milk, and administered astrin- 



1887.] FROM MSWATA TO YAMBUYA. 5 

gent medicines. I had a considerable number of sick on 
hand besides, to all of whom I gave the necessary medicines. 

At 9 p.m. about a hundred Zanzibaris, with their rifles, came 
from the Stanley to interview Mr. Stanley, and lay their griev- 
ances before him. They complained that they had been un- 
justly punished by the officers on board. Jephson and Stairs 
— against whom the complaint was made — were questioned 
on the subject, when it appeared that the men had looted 
a native village in direct disobedience to orders, and the 
plunder was, consequently, confiscated as a punishment. 
Jephson and Stairs were both ailing ; some feverish language 
followed, but after further explanation and apology the affair 
was smoothed over, and never once thought of again by either 
black or white. 

Mat 21. — At daybreak we started in the steamer, and pro- 
ceeded up the river. Profuse vegetation of the richest type 
abounded on either bank. 

Since yesterday, Mr. Stanley has decided to allow each 
officer four matako per diem to provide chickens for food. As 
only the smallest chickens can be purchased for three or four 
matako, there is, owing to the men's extravagance, no danger 
of over-feeding. 

May 22. — We passed Ngombe, and other large villages. 
Still the same lavish profusion of vegetation flourishes on the 
banks of the Congo. 

May 23. — Preparations for the great Mohammedan fast of 
Eamadan (the Muslim " Lent ") began. 

We passed the village of Usinde. At Lukolela we purchased 
two fowls ; no more could be procured, as they were very scarce, 
so we were obliged to arrange that these should satisfy the 
appetite of three of us — the captain of the Henry Beed, Walker 
(the engineer), and myself — for four days. The captain was, 
however, possessed of some tinned sausage, which was thrown 
in ; the rest of the memo was filled up with beans and rice. 

The three steamers, Stanley, Peace, and Henry Beed, kept 
together till 10 a.m. ; when the wood-fuel of the former ran 
short. We expect to get to the Equator Station to-morrow. 

The missionaries at Lukolela told me that whenever a 
chief dies several people are sacrificed ; this explains why it is 
that so many skulls surround some of the graves — an effective 
remedy in " congested districts." 



56 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

We passed the village of Irebu. There are large inland 
lakes not far from this part of the Congo. 

We passed the mouth of a very dark water tributary of 
the Congo. 

Tippu-Tib and the members of his party, and also all the 
Nubian members of the Expedition, observe the Ramadan 
ceremony religiously ; they abstain from food till the setting 
of the sun. The Zanzibaris and Somalis are not such earnest 
Muslims. 

May 2-i. — "We arrived at Equator Station, which is situated 
1J mile north of the line, about 5.33 p.m. We found it to 
consist of two houses, the first (as we passed up river) is 
occupied by the Baptist missionaries, one of whom is an Irish- 
man ; the second by Mr. Glave, of the Sanford Expedition, 
and Captain Van Gele, of the Congo Eree State. 

Ivory is the chief trade of the place. It is purchased from 
the natives for spoons, forks, plates, beads, cloth, &c 3 &e. v and 
afterwards sold for eight or ten shillings per lb. ; the dealers- 
realising a couple of hundred per cent, on the transfer. 

May 25. — We spent the whole of this day cutting wood,, 
which is now a very necessary item with us. The stay also 
gave the men the chance of buying food. We all dined with 
Captain Yan Gele and Mr. Glave, and enjoyed a good and 
abundant meal. 

I was changed to the Stanley, and Jephson took my place on 
the Henry Heed. This was on account of the large number of 
sick on board the former. I am delighted at the change, but 
poor Jephson's olfactory and optic nerves will be ruined by 
having to sleep downstairs. 

May 26. — We left the Equator Station at daybreak. Im- 
diately afterwards we passed the '-'Black liiver," so called 
from the deeply dark character of its water. The river is 
thickly studded with islands in these parts, which are quite 
covered over with trees and underwood. The islands usually 
vary from a quarter of a mile to four miles in length. 

May 27. — We arrived at the village of Uianga about 11 A.M., 
where we stopped and remained all day. This respite was in 
order to give the men an opportunity of buying some provisions, 
which they did — in the shape of bananas, manioc-bread, and 
plantains. The Zanzibaris thrive very well on this food, but 
it does not seem to agree by any means so well with the 



1887.] FROM MSWATA TO YAMBUYA. 57 

Somalis and Soudanese, who continue very delicate and sickly, 
especially the Somalis. We also managed to procure some 
chickens and a few goats. 

The men in this part of the country all carry long spears 
and shields; they have no guns (unlike the natives down 
river). The women wear a very artistically plaited kilt made 
of bark fibre, and suspended from the waist : they also wear 
broad straps over the breasts. 

May 28. — We left very early; a large crowd of natives 
came to see us off. Amongst them was a chief, who presented 
Jameson with a goat last night. He had given it nominally 
as a present ; but, as he received nothing in return, he came 
back to claim his lost property. All the African chiefs 
appear to be fond of giving presents, but it is always under- 
stood (at least by themselves) that they are to receive some- 
thing more valuable in return. 

May 29. — The three steamers started together, keeping 
their respective distances fairly well as they went on. Here 
and there, as we ascended the river, the natives came from the 
banks to meet us, sculling their dug-out canoes, and offering 
to sell us chickens and manioc-bread. They were certainly 
very friendly in their demeanour. 

May 30. — Abdi Mohammed — a Somali boy — died of ex- 
haustion. 

After two and a half hours' steaming we reached Bangala 
at 12.30 a.m. This is the furthest station on the Congo at 
present occupied by white men. The native village is a 
large straggling place, extending twelve miles in length. 
The small Congo Free State station — where Lieutenant Baert 
and Lieutenant Linant, with four other white men, live — 
is surrounded by a strong earth-fortification, and includes 
a brick factory. There is a small Krupp gun here, which 
was fired three times in quick succession, in honour of our 
advent. 

The women appear to be disproportionately numerous here ; 
they wear picturesque fringes of brown bark-fibre cloth, pretty 
nearly identical in shape and make with a Highland kilt. I 
could not help thinking at the moment what an attractive 
ballet costume it would inake for our theatres at home. 

Barttelot received orders to embark on the Henry Reed, and 
accompany Tippu-Tib with forty Soudanese as far as Stanley 



58 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

Falls ; where lie is to leave him, and return to the Aruwiini 
River. 

The little steamer En Avant was now exchanged for the 
Advance. The latter boat is to be lashed alongside the 
Peace. 

We dined with the C.F.S. officers. After dinner our leader 
made a short speech ; and we all drank the health of Leopold 
II., King of the Belgians, in the only bottle of champagne 
procurable at the station. 

31 at 31. — Major Barttelot, with forty Soudanese, and an 
interpreter, left in the Henry Pieed — in company with Tippu- 
Tib and his party. They steamed away at 6 A.M. His orders 
are to proceed till he arrives close to the " Falls," land 
Tippu-Tib's party, and then return to the Aruwimi Biver to 
meet us. If the tallest tree at the mouth of the Aruwimi is 
then found " blazed," it will be a sign that we have proceeded 
up that affluent ; otherwise we, who follow in the other steamers, 
have not yet arrived. He is to bring back a bullock from 
Tippu-Tib ; an event to which we look forward with eager 
anticipation, for we have grown thoroughly tired of tough goat's 
fiesh. 

We breakfasted with Lieuts. Baert and Linant, and left in 
our respective steamers at 1 o'clock. Before starting, I pur- 
chased a handsome spear for a tablespoonful of salt. 

Juxe 1. — We left at daybreak, and steamed on as quickly 
as we could so as to catch up the Peace, which had had three- 
quarters of an hour's start of us. The river in this neighbour- 
hood is divided into six or seven channels, separated by islands 
varying in length from half a mile up to forty miles, so that 
the steamers might very easily lose sight of one another. 
This will be a source of anxiety in the future, as we have 
now bade good-bye to civilisation, and we may fall among 
unfriendly tribes any day ; although, up to the present, they 
have certainly shown a very kindly feeling towards us. 

W^e had a very heavy fall of rain to-day. 

At Ban gala many people suffer from elephantiasis. This 
is the first of the disease I have seen on the Congo. 

June 2. — Fathel 3Iohammed (one of our Soudanese) died 
this ruornin2 at about 4 A.M.. and was buried before the 
steamer started. He suffered from sunstroke on the march, 
before leaving Kwamouth; and siuce that date he had got 



1887.] FROM MS W ATA TO YAM BUY A. 59 

gradually worse, and sank at last from exhaustion. Jameson 
and Jephson were far from well to-day. 

We kept close to the Peace, which preceded us during the 
whole of the day's journey. One of our chickens died a 
natural death to-day ; and, as it is with difficulty we can 
secure even one a day, we can have no animal food for the 
morrow, and are, accordingly, obliged to try and content our- 
selves with the anticipation of biscuit, rice, and plantains. 

June 3. — All the Sonialis are ill : one of them dangerously 
so. Their failing health I am disposed to attribute to their 
being accustomed to the dry desert air of Aden, and, conse- 
quently, quite unfit for the conditions of life here, in a damp, 
swampy country, where the air is laden with vegetable 
emanations. They all got rice and biscuit, in addition to their 
ordinary rations of matako, on account of their delicate health. 
Some of the Zanzibaris, and a few of the Soudanese, were granted 
the same indulgence. Our interpreter, Alexander, has also 
been allowed extras. 

On to-day's journey we steamed well ; passed the Peace, 
and sighted the Henry Peed. We stopped at 4 p.m., and 
proceeded to procure some wood as fuel. 

Jameson was much worse to-day ; he had a very bad night. 

June 4. — Abukir Mohammed — formerly a policeman, and 
married — died at 5 p.m., from cerebral disease. He had already 
been completely comatose for two days. He was buried close 
to the river's bank. Jameson is much better, and able to 
take his beef-tea, arrowroot, and milk with considerable relish. 
The Peace passed us this morning. I gave my boys the rod 
for losing a suit of pyjamas belonging to me ; I shall soon be 
without any clothes at all, and must have recourse to the 
time-honoured fig-leaf, if any grow in this land. 

There is an enormous quantity of orchilla-weed in this part 
of the Avorlcl ; it grows from both dead and living trees. 
Orchids also present themselves in great variety. They grow 
on the larger trees, but do not flower except where exposed to 
the sun rays. There are no good fruits. Camwood is common, 
and is much used as a dye by the natives of the Congo banks. 

June 5. — Hundreds of monkeys were seen among the trees 
to-day, swinging and jumping from branch to branch ; their 
movements were accompanied by the most comical antics. 

We have not seen a village since Friday last (3rd June). 



60 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

The islands in this part of the river are much longer, and 
the bush by which they are occupied is extremely thick ; 
it is irnjDossible to get through without the continuous use of 
bill-hooks. 

We stopped at 3 p.m. to cut wood. The Henry Reed, with 
Barttelot and Tippu-Tib, passed us at 4 p.m. 

June 6. — We started early, and soon sighted the Henry 
Heed ; after which we soon stuck on a sandbank, and were well 
behind in the day's race before we could get clear. We have 
not seen the Peace (with Air. Stanley on board) since Saturday 
afternoon (4th inst.) Osman Hadriz (Xubian) was buried 
at the camp last night ; he sank yesterday from the extreme 
debility produced by the spreading of two enormous sloughing 
ulcers on his leg. I had a good night's rest, as there were no 
mosquitoes. The air during the day was beautifully cool and 
fresh ; as the atmosphere was cloudy, and we were thus quite 
shaded from the direct rays of the sun. There were orchids 
on every other tree in the vicinity of our camp last night ; 
but, unfortunately, they are not in flower. 

We arrived at Upoto at 10 a.m., and we naturally expected 
to find the Peace before us. However, there was no steamer 
in sight. 

As the men had finished all their matako, we stopped at 
the village, in accordance with Air. Stanley's previous orders. 
As we neared the shore all the women ran into the bush, but 
the men came to the shore in full force, and all armed with 
spears and shields. One wild Aborigine had an old musket 
which he flourished around his head as he ran frantically up 
and down, appearing to think that his performance would 
scare us from the bank. In order to avoid a direct collision 
we put off and floated down stream for about three hundred 
yards; and, notwithstanding the hostile demonstration, ven- 
tured to land. Through the medium of our interpreter we 
tried to appease them, and succeeded — after about two hours* 
palaver ; when they consented to perform the rite of " blood 
brotherhood." This duplex operation Stairs consented to 
perform with the chief. It consists in lancing the forearms 
of the two persons entering into the compact, and mixing the 
blood. The natives then brought food, and we all disem- 
barked immediately afterwards. Our men went off in detach- 
ments to cut wood. At about 4.30 p.m. the Peace steamed up, 



1887.] FROM MSWATA TO YAMBUYA. 61 

and the natives all ran away on her approach, although we 
told them that it was Bula Matari (i.e. Mr. Stanley) who was 
coming. Mr. Stanley had this name given him by the natives 
on the Congo years ago. It means the "rock-breaker" and 
originated on one occasion when the native workmen, who 
were engaged in constructing a road, had been making abortive 
attempts to break a large obstructing rock with their sledges. 
In order to encourage them to more energetic efforts, Mr. Stanley 
took a sledge, and, saying to the bystanding workmen, " Look 
at me," he — taking skilful advantage of the direction of the 
planes of cleavage — with a well-directed blow, knocked off a 
huge piece : a feat which made an immense impression, and 
led to the conferring of the above epithet. 

We feared there would be a shindy with the natives on 
Mr. Stanley's arrival, but they did not give any trouble. Our 
chief was annoyed on coming on shore, and said that we had 
delayed him. The misunderstanding was, however, owing to 
the fact that the Peace had steamed ahead of us on Saturday 
(3rd inst.), and we, having lost sight of her among the islands, 
accidentally took a different channel. 

The men received six matako per day — for eight days — to 
buy food with. 

The shore opposite Upoto is covered with oyster shells. 

Juxe 7. — We spent the early part of the day in cutting 
wood, and at noon we steamed off in company with the Peace 
Yery few of the natives came to the shore to see us off. They 
remained at some distance off, armed with spears and shields. 

The women at Upoto wear no clothes whatever, and come 
up to us in the most unreserved manner. An interesting 
o-radation in the arrangement of the female costume has been 
observable as we ascended the Congo. The higher up the 
river we found ourselves, the higher the dress reached, till it 
has now, at last, culminated in absolute nudity. 

The cannibal regions also commence here. The natives 
offer for sale necklaces, and other ornaments, made from the 
teeth, dried fingers, &c, of their victims. 

All along the river we have been meeting idols of various 
shapes and sizes, most of them, however, representing human 
beings. They diminished in number, however, as we ascended 
the river, and pretty nearly in the same ratio as the feminine 
apparel. 



62 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

June 8. — We had a quiet night at camp, although we had 
felt some anticipation of trouble with the natives. 

June 9. — There was an unpleasant catastrophe to-day, owing 
to the deck-houses falling over to one side. These supported 
the upper deck, which was crowded with the men, and had 
not been constructed of sufficient strength. Wooden supports 
were, accordingly, prepared and fixed in the weakest places. 

We passed a large village, where the natives showed tight ; 
but, as we had a supply of plantains, manioc, goat, and 
chickens on board, we were not obliged to come into contact 
with them. We passed ten war-canoes, manned by fourteen 
men each. 

After landing, I sat ujd with the. men, who were cutting- 
wood by the light of immense fires, until 1 A.M. Tracks of 
elephants and hippo can be seen in all directions through 
the bush. Monkeys are also very numerous, and insects 
innumerable. The plumage of the^small birds and the colour 
of the butterflies are strikingly gorgeous and brilliant. 

June 10. — We left sharp at 5 a.vl At 11 a.x. we found 
the upper deck of the Stanley coming down again, owing to 
the weight of ninety men, with their kits and provisions, who 
were quartered on it. So we were obliged to get all the men 
down, and place some new supports under the falling structure. 

June 11. — The grass close to , our camp was last night 
accidentally set on fire by some of our men ; and, as the wind 
was blowing towards us, there was the greatest alarm lest 
everything should be burnt. All the men were turned out, 
and the fire was, with considerable difficulty, thoroughly 
extinguished, after which we were able to rest in comfort. 

At 9 a.:\i. we passed a large village which had been burnt 
during the night. We thought this might have been done bv 
Barttelot's lorjby Tippu-Tib's people, as they are but one day 
ahead of us. It is also possible that Tippu-Tib's people may 
have come here from Stanley Falls in search of ivory, and we 
were led to suspect that this was what had really happened, 
on seeing a canoe similar to those used at the Falls, lying 
close to the bank. 

We ran against a snag this afternoon, but it did no per- 
manent damage. We passed several large villages. 

Stairs is again down with intermittent fever. 

June 12. — We passed a large village on the left bank. 



1887.] FROM MS WAT A TO YAMBUYA. 63 

We ascertained that the burnt village we saw yesterday had 
received its destruction at the hands of neighbouring natives 
on account of a tribal quarrel, brought on by a difference of 
opinion as to right of possession of the person of a young female. 

We now entered the Aruwimi, which is much broader than the 
Nile at Cairo. We stopped for the night on an island oppo- 
site the Basoko village, close to the junction of the Aruwimi 
with the Congo. The streams here unite at an acute angle. 
Mr. Stanley had gone on in front, and landed his black boy 
Baruti at his native village of Basoko. He is about fifteen 
years old, and had been given by Tippu-Tib to Sir F. De 
Winton, after which he was transferred to Mr. Stanley. He 
has lived some years in London, and speaks English well, 
but is an atrocious young ruffian. His sisters and brothers 
recognised him after some time, when he showed them a scar 
on his back, which he received from a crocodile when a boy. 
Mr. Stanley told him that he could remain with his family 
if he liked, but he says he prefers to remain with his 
master. His brothers and sisters wept when he was leaving 
them. 

Basoko has several thousand inhabitants. They are very 
savage indeed. The Peace, with Mr. Stanley on board, crossed 
the channel of the river to the island (about 1000 yards in 
width), and asked the natives (through Baruti) to cross to 
us and sell us provisions ; but they were too timid to come. 

Baruti' s reason for not staying with his relatives we were 
strongly disposed to attribute to a suspicion that he would be 
cooked and eaten by them. 

We have been greatly impressed by the canoes used by the 
natives here, and by their mode of managing them. They 
stand up while paddling their canoes, and they make them 
appear and disappear among the reeds and bush near the bank 
in a perfectly marvellous way. The handle of the paddle is 
ornamentally tipped with ivory. They carry their shields in 
the canoe, and when fighting they hold them up in a row so 
as to form a good protection against spears and arrows. 

June 13. — We cut wood, and remained till noon, in the fond 
hope of being able to purchase some provisions from the 
natives ; but not one of them would come near us, although 
Baruti spoke to them at a distance, and assured them again 
and again that we did not intend to fight, or make ourselves 



64 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

disagreeable in any way. Jephson's donkey died last night ; 
it cannot be replaced in these parts. 

I resected the elbow-joint of one of the Zanzibaris, who 
had been accidentally wounded by a hatchet. 

When leaving Basoko, a very large crowd of natives suddenly 
appearecl on the banks ; they had been hidden away in the 
bush and long grass, close to the water's edge, and would not 
appear till we had moved off. Basoko is situated in longitude 
25° 14' E; latitude 1° 15' N. 

June 14. — Last night we stopped at a small village, and 
our men went on shore, but could find no provisions except 
plantains. We stayed there for the night ; the natives fled 
precipitately into the bush, but we heard tom-toms and horns 
sounding high in the surrounding villages so as to warn the 
inhabitants against us. Two minutes after pushing off from 
the bank in the morning the natives swarmed to the river's 
brink in enormous numbers, fully equipped with spears and 
shields. They had been quietly collecting in ambush (in the 
long grass) all night; and, had we remained much longer, 
they would have surrounded us in so great a number that they 
must easily have overpowered us. 

The atmosphere w 7 as very foggy in the early part of the 
day. It cleared about noon. 

Last night, I had an attack of intermittent fever. I was, 
however, quite well at 3 . 30 p.m. to-day The fever then came 
on again ; my temperature at 4 . 30 p.m. was 102° 4' F. Jephson 
also was feverish. 

June 15. — When we started in the morning I felt quite 
"fit." Jephson was still feverish. We stopped at 11 a.m. to 
cut wood. There are not many villages on this part of the 
river. The north bank here rises to a height of thirty feet; it 
is the first time we have met a high bank since we left Leopold- 
ville. We reached the first cataract on the Aruwimi at 
(3 p.m. Here is situated the village of Yambuya, where the 
entrenched camp is now to be constructed. Accordingly, 
we all had to pack up our belongings, as we must leave the 
steamers — the river not being navigable further, on account of 
the cataract. When we neared the place, Mr. Stanley steamed 
over to the left bank, where he palavered with the natives ; 
and afterwards returned to the right bank, where we all stopped 
for the night. 



1887.] FROM MSWATA TO YAMBUYA. 65 

June 16. — Orders were given last night for the Peace to 
leave at 6 a.m. with Mr. Stanley, and cross to the village of 
Yambuya on the opposite side. He was to try to make peace- 
ful terms with the natives, and we were to have steam up and 
keep the Stanley just on the move in mid-stream, so as to be 
ready to give assistance if necessary. Mr. Stanley was to blow 
the whistle of the Peace in case that satisfactory terms could 
not be made with the natives. They did, indeed, when he 
came to close quarters with them, agree to give us provisions, 
&c. ; but refused the thing we specially wanted — to allow us 
to land, and make ourselves a fixed position there. This was 
annoying, as there is no other place that can be selected with 
a suitable sanitary and strategical position but this, as the 
village occupies a very favourable site on high ground, and is 
in every way specially adapted for our purposes. After a long 
conference with the natives, the whistle of the Peace announced 
that we were to land and take up the position. Jephson's 
company came first; they were arranged in line along the 
shore, and instructed to march in the same order — through the 
village, and as far as the bush at the back. Nelson's company, 
with mine, were to hold the village above ; and Stairs' company 
was to search the place. As the villagers had, however, all 
skedaddled on the approach of our steamers, we had no 
difficulty in taking possession of the place; but we were 
obliged to take great precaution in the posting of our sentries, 
as the natives were lurking in the bush close by. 

We found the huts small in size, and conical in shape ; they 
were constructed by sticking poles in the ground so as to 
enclose a circle of the requisite diameter, about the size of a 
regulation bell tent, and then tying them together at the top, 
thatching with leaves and grass — and making an earthen floor 
raised two feet above the ground. They were told off to our 
men — one hut to six men. Our tents were pitched, and a. 
circumferential space of fifty yards in width was cleared all 
around the camp. The latter was a very necessary pre- 
caution ; as the bush was very dense around us, and easily 
concealed the treacherous natives, whom we knew to be 
crouching in it in all directions, waiting for an opportunity 
of attacking us. 

June 17. — All ammunition, baggage, and stores, were re- 
moved from the steamers to our camp. Baruti, the black 

F 



66 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

Basoko boy, who had been well treated by Mr. Stanley, 
deserted — running away with three other boys. They took a 
canoe and returned to Basoko, although Baruti had declined 
the offer of staying when he was there. So his movement has 
not corroborated our former suspicion of his fearing that his 
friends and relations would celebrate his return by feasting on 
him. They carried off with them Mr. Stanley's revolver, 
without ammunition; and a Winchester rifle — with 100 
rounds. 

A trench — of three feet deep — to surround the camp was 
commenced ; the boma (stockade) will be about 200 feet across. 
Poles of nine feet in length have to be provided and placed in 
the trench (side by side), so as to have six feet projecting ; they 
will form a strong wall of defence. There is, however, a hill 
250 yards off; from which an enemy, if provided with rifles, 
could conveniently fire into us. 

In the evening, Mr. Stanley called his officers into his tent 
and informed us that he intended marching to the Albert 
Nyanza, relieving Emin Pasha by handing him over the 
ammunition, and returning to Yambuya about October or 
November. He would leave the entrenched camp here in 
charge of Barttelot and Jameson. He went on to say that 
Barttelot was not sufficiently forbearing, but that Jameson's 
experience of Africa would, he thought, correct his impetuosity. 
Also, that Tippu-Tib with 600 men were coming here, to assist 
in carrying the ammunition to Emin Pasha. 

June 18. — All the men were hard at work to-day cutting 
wood for the Stanley, which is to leave to-morrow, to return 
to Leopoldville. I was sent, with a reconnoitring party, to 
ascertain the extent of the manioc fields. I found that 
they occupy an immense area, and are capable of sustain- 
ing the garrison of Yambuya for years, if necessary ; as it has 
fed the villagers, who are, at least, ten times the number 
of our garrison. There is, however, little or no prospect of 
obtaining any other provisions, as game is scarce — on account 
of the fact that the river bank is very high in this neighbour- 
hood, which does not afford animals the convenience of coming 
down to drink ; so that they are obliged to occupy more acces- 
sible parts. The hijDpo also seems scarce. The natives refused 
to sell any food, but we hope that they will change their minds 
after a time, when they have had an opportunity of seeing 



1887.] FROM MS WAT A TO YAMBUYA. 67 

that they will be honestly paid for their goods, and not plun- 
dered — as they have usually been accustomed to. 

I have given up the F Co. now, and have but the G Co. to 
look after. I am very glad that Mr. Stanley has given me a 
company like the other officers, as I shall have my own men to 
look after me, and it is a real relaxation and pleasure to have 
other work, to alternate with the constant anxiety and troubles 
of attendance on the sick only. 

June 19. — We cut wood for the Stanley, and expect that 
she will be ready to start down river to-morrow at noon, with 
the Florida alongside. 

June 20. — Heavy rain fell last night. The Stanley left at 
noon, with an enormous quantity of wood on board. The 
captain and engineer said that it was quite sufficient for nine 
days. This large provision of fuel is very necessary as there 
are but a few Snider rifles on board, so that they could not 
resist much fighting, if they had to deal with hostile natives. 
Accordingly, she can go straight on to Bolobo. 

Jameson is not at all well. Our donkeys are picking up 
after their long journey in the steamers. Barttelot is ex- 
pected ; but there is no sign of him as yet. 

We went on cutting wood to-day, to provide for the other 
steamers in going down river. Our camp is 1,400 feet above 
sea-level. About two miles up river there is a bend in its 
course, and, in this situation, a succession of rapids and small 
cascades, which effectually prevent any attempt at navigation. 

June 21. — No natives have as yet come in to us. They, 
however, paddle their canoes close to the bank, and sell fish to 
our men. Nearly all the natives who deserted the village 
have gone and settled on the opposite side of the river, close 
to the water. 

My boy managed to break one of my water-bottles to-day, 
which is rather annoying, as there may be scarcity of water 
on the march to the Albert Nyanza. 

June 22. — Barttelot arrived in the Henry Reed, at 4 p.m. ; 
he had left Tippu-Tib at the Falls. Tippu-Tib's men, he told 
us, had had a big fight with the natives, and had got them- 
selves cut and slashed in a fearful manner, with knives and 
spears — the latter mostly barbed. 

Tippu-Tib's station at the Stanley Falls was taken by him 
in September, 1886, from the Congo Free State ; Mr. Deane 

f 2 



68 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

was then commanding. The attack on the station was all on 
account of a black slave who had been beaten by her master ;, 
and, in consequence, ran away and took refuge in the fort. 
Deane would not give her up, and the result was an attack 
on the fort by Tippu-Tib's Manyuema, which ended, after 
three or four days' fighting, in the rout of the Congo Free- 
State garrison. Tippu-Tib stated that he did not order the 
fight, and did not even know of it till afterwards. The- 
refugee slave — the casus belli in the above case — is now 
married to a Houssa at Bangala, and she was unwisely shown 
to Tippu-Tib on our way up river. And Tippu-Tib is now 
himself appointed chief of the station which his people 
formerly wrenched in this way from the Congo Free State I 
This diplomatic move was made by the King of the Belgians 
on Mr. Stanley's suggestion. 

The station itself is situated on an island opposite the 
Falls, and surrounded by a strong stockade ; there are three 
Krupp guns, with breech blocks and other appurtenances 
thereof, all complete. It was stated that the breech blocks 
had been removed by Deane before he retired, but Barttelot 
told me there is no doubt of their presence in the fort now. 

Our entire force now collected here numbers 512. 

June 23. — Alexander, our second interpreter (with the 
Nubians), died of acute dysentery — occurring, as it did, in a 
very weak and debilitated constitution. 

The men cut wood for fuel, to take the Peace and Henry 
Beed down river. Some of the Nubians went out foraging 
on their own account, and one got severely wounded by the 
spear of a native, which penetrated the abdominal wall and 
glanced along the ilium, exposing the intestines. I brought 
the parts together, after cleansing the .wound, and fixed the 
edges with hare-lip pins and twisted suture. His condition 
is now, of course, a very precarious one. 

June 24. — Barttelot received his orders from Mr. Stanley. 
He is to march, when his men are collected, so as to meet 
us on our return journey, although he is allowed the option 
of remaining — if he does not consider himself competent to 
move, after he has discarded a quantity of his impedi- 
menta. 

The Peace and Henry Beed left at daybreak, on their return 
voyage down river. I sent my letters and a few other things 



1887.] FROM MSWATA TO YAMBUYA. 69 

home, viz., some curios, one tusk of ivory, two shields, two 
spears, one paddle, and the fringe of a native female. 

All available men were set to work cutting poles for the 
palisade to surround our camp, which will be about 200 yards 
around. The trench itself is to be six feet wide, and three 
•deep. 

June 25. — Men very busy in cutting and carrying poles to 
<3amp. They were placed side by side in the trench ; and then 
fixed in this position by having earth thrown in, and pressed 
•down. The plan includes three gates, one on the east side, 
•one on the south — this latter is close to a good spring — and 
•one on the north, leading towards the river. Stairs commenced 
the construction of the eastern gate, but soon had to give it 
up, as he began to feel very ill. The fever was on him, and 
when I saw him a short time after, his temperature was 103° F. 
Still he actually felt chilly then, and thought it unnecessary 
that I should take his temperature. I gave him a large dose 
of quinine. 

Jameson had eight or nine canoes hauled up to the camp, 
.and a large number of paddles stored away ; lest they should 
be wanted for emergency occasions, as steamers will not, of 
•course, be available. 

Our encampment is somewhat triangular in outline, with 
the angles rounded off. The river forms the base ; and, in this 
position, the bank is very precipitous. Half of one of the 
other sides of the triangle is protected by a natural ditch. 

June 26. — Barttelot and Jameson will be alone until the 
.arrival of Bonny, Ward and Troup, and will fortify the place 
still further when we are gone. They will have to make a ditch 
along the less protected part of the camp, including one half 
•of the southern aspect — outside the palisade. Jephson, who 
has charge of our steel boat, got her up, and had the sections 
separated and tied on poles, ready to be carried with us 
on the march. Stairs still very poorly ; temperature 102° F. 
in the morning, and 103° in the evening ; his skin remains 
very dry, and tongue foul. I gave him a large dose of 
quinine. I finished the eastern gate (the main one) which 
Stairs had commenced. I pegged the boards on with wooden 
pegs, and swung it from the top cross-bar ; so that it is only 
necessary to push it up, and support it on a rest, to leave it 
•open. Not being a Eoyal Engineer like Stairs, I forgot to 



70 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

wedge the wooden pegs — which imperfection caught the eye 
of our observant leader ; and, accordingly, I expect that when 
the wood dries and shrinks the whole structure will come to 
pieces. 

June 27. — This morning Stairs' temperature was 102° E. ; it 
rose to 103° at 8 o'clock in the evening. The medicine has 
acted, and sweating is now established. I proposed to Mr. Stanley 
that he should be left behind, as I was greatly afraid of the 
consequences of his starting with the advance column, which 
has already received orders to march to-morrow, for he has 
undoubted typhoid symptoms, modified by malaria. Accord- 
ingly, Mr. Stanley ordered Jameson to hold himself in readiness, 
and said that, as it was my opinion that Stairs had " typhoid " 
symptoms, I should remain behind to treat him for this very 
serious condition. However, Stairs was full of hope of a 
speedy recovery, and retained his buoyancy wonderfully; 
expressing the strongest desire to accompany the advance 
column. Encouraged by this hopefulness, and feeling sure 
that a change would be desirable for the malarial poisoning- 
from which he was evidently suffering, I recommended that he 
should come with us ; and it was accordingly arranged that he 
will be carried by ten men specially told off (daily) for this 
duty. I must confess I was very anxious to go myself also. 

I tried some of Warburg's tincture with him, without any 
marked effect. 

All the men procured four days' rations, as we are to make 
our first march to-morrow. We packed up our kits into two 
loads of 60 lbs. each ; a third load we left in the fort. The 
palisade is now completely finished. Mr. Stanley decided 
to bring Nelson, Stairs, Jephson, and myself, as the advance 
party to the Albert Nyanza, find Emin Pasha, and then return 
for the rear column, which will slowly follow us with the 
reserve stores. 



( 71 ) 



CHAPTER IY. 

FEOM YAMBUYA TO AVISIBBA. 

The Advance Column — Order of marching through the forest — Grood-bye to 
Barttelot and Jameson — Brush with hostile natives — We cut our way- 
through the bush — The forest a conservatory of malaria — Major Barttelot's 
force at Yambuya camp — Wounds caused by poisoned spikes stuck in 
the ground — Tedious progress through the forest — Zareeba enclosures 
for defence of our camps — Game pits and elephant tracks in the forest — 
The trees and their foliage — Annoying obstacles on the march — Capture 
of a goat — We launch the Advance and follow the course of the river — 
The natives and sanitation — Deserted villages — Ethnological curiosities 
of the district — Aruwimi Falls — An army of ants — My personal baggage 
— Different forms of native hut construction — A forsaken baby — Forest 
tornado — Nelson and Jephson down with fever — Further casualties 
through poisoned wooden spikes — Mr. Stanley takes observations — A 
man shot through the femoral artery — Fording swollen rivers — Hornets' 
nests suspended from the branches of trees — Scarcity of food — We meet 
some friendly natives — Continuous rows with our cooks — A hard day's 
work with the advance guard — Abundance of game in the forest — Strange 
finds in the villages — Zanzibar! method of cooking fowls — Ticks and 
"jiggers" — Fine features of the natives — Accident to our biscuits — 
Heavy rains — We buy food from the inhabitants of Mugwye's village — 
Elephants' tusks used for native seats — First quadruped meat for a 
a month — Canoe accidents in the Aruwimi — Welcome capture of goats 
by Mr. Stanley — Pariga Falls — Weak state of our men from ulcers — We 
forage for food — A dead man prepared for burial — African chickens — A 
Zanzibari shot near our camp — Sharp engagement with the natives at 
Avisibba — Lieutenant Stairs wounded by a poisoned arrow — My treat- 
ment of the wound. 

June 28. — Reveille sounded at 5 a.m. ; and, one hour after, 
Mr. Stanley marched out of the stockade with the advance 
guard — at the head of the column, which numbered 389 
officers and men. 

The Zanzibaris are now divided into four companies : — 

Eifles. Men. 

Xo. 1. (which was Stanley's own) commanded) q~ -.Qg 

by Parke . . . . . ( 

„ 2. Commanded by Stairs .... 85 88 

„ 3. „ Nelson ... 85 88 

„ 4. „ Jephson ... 85 88 

The Soudanese and Somalis are attached to No. 1 Company, 



72 EXPERIENCES IX EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

and carry no loads. Forty of the best men of Xo. 1 Company 
were armed with Winchester repeaters (fifteen-shooters) and 
hill-hooks : and went ahead of the column — as pioneers — 
to clear the road. They were selected as sharp-shooters, hut 
their principal work must really he to cut down saplings, 
branches, vines. &c, &c. and make a road through the 
woods for the caravan to follow in single file ; also to blaze 
the trees, so that the line of route will be self-evident, both 
for our men and for the rear-column when it comes to follow. 
Each man has a bandoleer or pouch to carry ammunition, and 
each company has to carry a certain number of axes, hoes, 
shovels, bill-hooks, and eight rounds of ammunition, as well as 
has load, rifle and kit — about SO lbs. weight in all. In addition 
to twelve supernumerary Zanzibaris who did not carry rifles, the 
rear-guard consisted of thirty men without loads, formed by 
ten selected from each of Companies 2, 3, and -i ; but, as Stairs 
has to be carried, the ten men from his company must be 
utilised in convevinir him in a hammock until he is strong 
enough to walk, and the remaining twentv will act as rear-o-uarcl. 
On leaving Yambuya we marched in the following order : — 

Mr. Stanley — with advance guard. 

Parke — in front of the main column, consisting of Nos. 2, 
3, and -i Companies, carrying loads. 

Jephson — in rear of main column. 

Xelson — on rear-guard. 

TTe intend maintaining this order of march throughout, if 
"possible ; every day keeping a roster of duty, whereby each of 
us four will take our turn of command in succession, at front 
or rear of column. It is evident that some considerable time 
must elapse before Stairs can be strong enough to take his 
turn of the work : although a certain degree of in^rovernent 
was manifest on this day's march. Each of us has got his 
donkey with him. 

We bade good-bye to Barttelot and Jameson, both of whom 
were very gloomy at the idea of being left behind. Barttelot's 
last words to me were, that he would not remain a day after 
the rest of the loads and men came up from Bolobo. When 
we marched away the place looked quite deserted, but the 
garrison is well protected by the stockade. We kept to the 
river as we went on ; and are to proceed directly east, to the 
southern extremitv of the Albert IV vanza. 



1887.] FROM TAMBUYA TO AVISIBBA. 73 

After a few hours' march, some of the hostile natives fired 
upon us with their poisoned arrows, and two of our Zanzibaris 
were wounded. Our march led through the forest in a thick 
undergrowth of bush, through which we were obliged to cut 
our way. A small track did exist, but so narrow and entangled, 
that it required broadening for the passage of the bearers of 
the sections of the boat. The archway of branches above had 
also to be cleared away, in order to allow the men to walk 
upright as they marched on — carrying their loads on their 
heads, according to the custom of the Zanzibaris. (Natives 
in the forest carry their loads on their backs and shoulders, 
so that they can travel under the archways of entangling 
creepers which cover the path.) 

The forest certainly appears to be a conservatory of malaria, 
as the ground is thickly covered with the spongy debris of 
decomposing vegetable matter. It is also very moist, as the sun 
cannot penetrate through the thick foliage so as to promote 
evaporation ; thus it fumes and steams around, and causes one to 
perspire and swelter very much like the atmosphere of a hot- 
house, or a Turkish bath. Bad as the atmosphere was, Stairs 
continued to improve on the march, but my own temperature 
ran up to 106° F., and I felt above boiling point. I injected 
a dose of pilocarpin hypodermically, which in a few minutes 
drenched me in perspiration, after which I felt considerably 
relieved. 

We finished a march of fourteen miles from the entrenched 
camp. As we proceeded we diverged from the river, which does 
not run quite in our direction, but strikes deep into the forest. 

June 29. — Barttelot's force — in camp — consists of: — 

Zanzibaris ........ 78 

Nubians. ........ 44 

Somalis ... ... . 5 

Officers ......... 2 

129 

This number is made up of the weaklings of the Expedition 
(a large proportion of whom are, however, able to carry loads) 
with a few of the stronger men to look after them ; and they 
possess eighty rifles. They are to be in creased in August by 
the Bolobo detachment, viz., Troup, Ward, and Bonny, with 
131 Zanzibaris. This would make a total of 263. 



74 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

June 30. — We started at daybreak. Trie advance column 
had some shooting, during which a native was wounded. We 
passed some village which had been pillaged by a slave- or 
ivory-hunting party. We supposed the aggressors to be Tippu- 
Tib's people, as we found their marks upon the trees, and the 
road which they had cut for themselves through the forest. 

Some of our men were badly wounded in the feet to-day by 
treading on sharp-pointed pieces of wood or spikes, which had 
been stuck in the pathway leading to the zareeba or boma 
(which surrounds each native village), so as to obstruct the 
advance. These spikes are sometimes smeared over with 
poison, and are ingeniously made of brittle wood, with a 
circular or spiral groove near the point ; leaving a projecting 
shoulder, so that it breaks off when it penetrates the flesh, and 
almost invariably leaves the point within. They are generally 
placed in the ground near a village, and in a slightly slanting 
position, with the point towards you as you approach. 

We spent the night in a small village which we barricaded, 
and posted a number of sentries (twenty to forty), who are 
always on the alert. The natives came howling around our 
camp at night, but did not attack us. We had marched about 
four miles ; the progress through the forest being, necessarily, 
very tedious. Every evening when we halt, our first duty is 
to get the men to cut bushes — those with thorns if procurable 
— and make a zareeba of considerable size and strength, so as 
to protect the caravan from night sunrises — of either wild 
men or wild beasts. We then pitch our tents, pile the loads, 
and the men make their huts^ — all inside the enclosure. 

July 1. — We marched through bush and swamp, and passed 
several villages until we reached a full-grown forest at 2 p.m. 
We continued our march through it, for another hour. There 
was a hungry uncertainty as to the number of clays we may- 
have to s}3end in this foodless forest, so Mr. Stanley sent half 
the men back, with orders to provide a supply of manioc. We 
zareebed at 3 p.m., having done six miles in the day's march. 
We have now passed eastward twenty-four geographical miles 
from the entrenched camp ; but have, of course, marched over 
a much greater distance, as we followed winding paths. How 
I wish that we could get into open country again, as the 
smell — from decomposing water in stagnant pools, and rotting 
vegetable matter — is most abominable. 



1887.] FROM YAMBUYA TO AVISIBBA. 75 

Stairs is now improving ; Jephson is taking his turn, being- 
down with fever to-day. 

July 2. — The remaining half of the force returned for manioc, 
according to the order issued by Mr. Stanley yesterday. We 
have now been pure vegetarians for four days, as we have no meat. 
Our food is rice-biscuit, manioc, tea and coffee. The manioc 
we roast in the fire, and then eat like a potato ; for we have not 
time for more elaborate cooking, in the way of soaking and 
preparing chikwanga (bread), as the natives do on the Congo. 

The forest is dotted all over, apparently, with game-pits — 
somewhat like newly-made European graves — for catching- 
wild animals. A reconnoitring party was sent off, and re- 
turned with two women and some children ; but very little 
useful information could be got from them, as none of us could 
speak their language. At 4 p.m., when our foraging party had 
returned, we started, and marched along elephant-paths for 
four miles ; we had, however, to cut away saplings and creepers 
every yard of the way, and blaze the larger trees as they 
crossed our path. 

At the end of four miles we halted, and made a zareeba. 

July 3. — We marched from daybreak until dark — 7.20 p.m. 
— so as to get out of the forest. The inducement to proceed 
was pretty strong, as we had nothing to eat. On this clay's 
march I was in rear of the column, and my chief delay was in 
getting on the sections of the boat, which could be squeezed 
along the path only with great difficulty, as they caught in 
the creepers, &c. The forest here was a regular meshwork 
of elephant-tracks ; and, when they happened to lie in our 
direction, we utilised them as our own. We are now marching 
in a northerly direction, as we want to strike the river again ; 
so as to utilise our boat and look for food, the natives being- 
more likely to be found settling on its banks than in the 
dark interior of the forest. We had some rain on this day's 
march; also we passed some heavy swamps, so that we are 
well soaked. 

Mr. Stanley believes that, as we march eastward, we must 
find villages ; and, consequently, be able to obtain food. 

July 4. — I slept in wet clothes during the night ; it is im- 
possible to dry anything in the forest, as the sun cannot 
penetrate through the thick foliage. The trees are very large 
circumferentially, and maintain nearly the same thickness 



76 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

throughout their whole length till they approach the top; 
when they give off divergent branches, so as to form a sort of 
umbrella-like shade. The usual height is from 100 to 200 feet. 

It is very difficult to get the donkeys through the swamps, 
as they sink up to their necks in crossing. Clouds of malarious 
vapour always hang about the swamps, so that one or two of us 
white men are down every day with fever. Transport for the 
sick is very difficult. Eiding is impossible, on account of the 
crossing of creepers from tree to tree, branches of young 
trees, &c, impeding every step. The transit of rivers is also 
a most annoying obstacle. The unfortunate sick man has to 
be carried in a hammock, swung on a pole, and supported on the 
shoulders of two carriers. In the forest, this vehicle gets caught 
and torn, every few yards of its progress ; and, in crossing deep 
streams, the invalid gets dipped, if not quite submerged, from 
time to time, by the slipping (on a stone, &c.) or sinking (into 
a hole) of one or other of his carriers. 

We marched for two miles northward in this way ; we then 
struck the river, and had some further variety in the shape of 
a skirmish with the natives, a few of whom raised a temporary 
objection to our presence. They deserted a canoe on the 
opposite side of the river, which we at once appropriated. It 
had a goat tied down in it, the acquisition of which was 
regarded as a great godsend. Our own boat was immediately 
launched, and secured the prize. 

Mr. Stanley reconnoitred in the boat — up and down the 
river — for some time. We marched along the bank for a few 
furlongs, and then halted for the night. 

July 5. — The Advance was sent back for some large canoes 
which were on an island near our camp. We continued our 
march along the river, as it lay pretty much in our direction, 
i.e., eastward. The boat was rowed along, and this operation 
was in itself a means of saving much trouble and delay, as it 
always takes forty men to carry it in sections, with its oars, 
fittings, &c. 

The natives, even here, have very pronounced ideas on the 
subject of sanitation. They always make their beds at some 
height from the ground, and have special pits for collection of 
ash and refuse ; some of them, however, situated undesirably 
close to the huts. In some villages, indeed, they have rather 
well-made latrines — even closets — to sit on ; and upon the 



1887.] FROM YAMBUYA TO AVIS1BBA. 77 

whole they are much cleaner and tidier than the inhabitants 
of our remote villages at home. 

There were great complaints, as my donkey had eaten up 
my boy's rations ; he was very hungry, poor animal, and 
there is no grass to be found, except a little here and there 
close to the river's bank. 

Stairs has nearly recovered ; he has been improving rapidly 
during the past few days. 

July 6. — We did not march till noon. The men are im- 
proving in marching ; we continued to follow the course of 
the river, although its direction was now northerly, as we 
hoped to strike a branch which would have our (easterly) 
direction. We have as yet met with no such tributary of any 
considerable size ; and we conclude that the country cannot 
be peopled inland, as they always settle in the neighbourhood 
of water. Accordingly, we have the great inducement of 
keeping to the river, that we know we will be sure of finding 
some food, while there is little or none to be found in the 
forest. 

July 7. — Mr. Stanley now travelled in the boat ; I was with 
the advance guard. We passed a village, and then made a 
long detour inland — so as to avoid rivers and swamps. We cut 
our way persistently through thick bush, from 11 a.m. till 
5 p.m. At 4 p.m., we again touched the Aruwimi, which here 
takes an easterly direction, that is more in the line of our 
course. We were frequently obliged to leave the elephant- 
tracks and native paths, and cut new roads for ourselves. 
When it was time to stop for the night, we signalled to 
Mr. Stanley by a rifle shot. It is with great difficulty that 
we cleared, by cutting, sufficient room to pitch our three 
tents. 

July 8. — We started at 6.30 a.m. Nelson was in advance, 
and I did not leave camp with the rear-guard till 9.30 a.m. 
The bush is very dense, and difficult to cut through ; hence the 
delay of three hours. This shows how difficult it is to get 
on, as the baggage was but a few yards ahead. Mr. Stanley 
took a canoe to-day, and Stairs went in the boat ; as he is still 
weak, and hardly able to use his legs. 

We did about five miles to-day, passing through three 
deserted villages. The natives all abandon their villages as 
we approach, carrying all their belongings with them. Their 



78 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

" Intelligence Department " rivals that of the British army 
during the Xile expedition of 1884-5. 

July 9. — We started at 6.30 a.m., and accomplished a good 
day's marching ; as there was a path all the way, and, accord- 
ingly, there was but little cutting to be done. The river still 
lies in our direction, and this relieves the column of the in- 
cumbrance of the boat and her equipment, while the hands who 
would have been employed in carrying her are utilised for other 
work. She also carries many loads and sick, the latter requiring 
the largest and strongest men in the Expedition as " bearers." 
Our wretched donkeys have nothing but leaves to eat. 

There are few ethnological curiosities in this district. The 
drums used by the natives to alarm the neighbourhood are 
formed from hollowed-out portions of trunks of trees, and the 
canoes are all of the dug-out pattern. Cooking pots are made 
from the clay of ant heaps, and after the shape of some product 
of nature — such as a " gourd." 

July 10. — We started at 6 A.M. : I was in advance, and 
received orders from Mr. Stanley to keep the pioneers on the 
alert, as there was a cataract ahead, and we might have to fight. 
The natives were, however, prudent ; and left us to enjoy the 
neighbourhood in peace. We left the bank of the Aruwimi 
at 9 a.m., as there was no path ; so we had the greatest difficulty 
in finding our way, and had to steer by a compass. 

July 11. — We marched to the head of the Falls; then 
halted and returned for the boat and canoe, which we got over 
the cataract. As many of the men were footsore, they were 
allowed to rest there for the remainder of the day. 

The ants are very troublesome in this part of the forest. 
They travel in army corps : with their commissariat, pioneers, 
intelligence, and other departments thoroughly organised. 
Thev frequently pass in a continuous stream for several hours 
bv our tents, sometimes even through them. If not molested, 
they go along quietly ; but once disturbed, and their line 
broken, they become vicious and revengeful. The majority 
are small and red, but a certain proportion of large black ones 
are to be seen among the crowd. We are obliged to strap our 
knickerbockers very tightly round the leg ; petticoats would 
never do in this country. 

I opened out all my baggage after halting, and exposed 
the various items to the sun; as everything gets wet in the 



1887.] FROM TAMBUYA TO AVISIBBA. ! 79 

forest, and drying is slow, on account of the density of the 
foliage. I was extremely glad of the day's rest, as we all have 
to do our marching on foot, our donkeys being too weak to 
accommodate us. My personal baggage now consists of a few 
pairs of trousers and socks (only), with pyjamas, and a pair of 
boots. 

The village here has huts of two different kinds ; one is of 
conical pattern, raised on a high mound of earth, and covered 
with leaves ; the second is quadrangular in outline, with very 
definite measurements, usually about twenty feet long, and 
thirteen feet wide ; with a ridge pole six feet two inches from 
the floor. They are built with saplings covered in with large 
leaves of the amomum, and are arranged in rows, so as to form 
a street of very fair width. 

We came across two women yesterday, who promised to show 
us the road. One of them ran away last night, leaving her baby 
(aged about four years) with us in camp. The unhappy child 
had, of course, to be left behind, as we had no milk to give it. 
I saw it last, as we marched out of camp, lying on a mat near 
the fire chewing some plantains. Poor little thing ! I hope its 
mother returned for it ; indeed, I think it extremely likely 
that she did, as our movements were always so well known to 
the natives about. 

July 12. — We made a good march, and stopped for a meal 
of rice at 10.30 a,m. Mr. Stanley and Stairs came up, in the 
canoe and boat respectively, and soon after we halted for the 
day. 

July 13. — I led the advance party, and left the Aruwimi at 
9 a.m. We steered by a compass. Halted at 10.30 a.m. for 
cold rice and coffee, and met the river again at 4 P.M. We 
halted in a village near this point ; but presently we heard a 
shot higher up, which was a signal for us to go on to where 
Mr. Stanley was, about one hour's march ahead. About half- 
way a regular tornado came on, and the rain literally poured 
down, drenching everything. Fortunately I was able to get a 
dry suit of pyjamas from Stairs. 

July 14. — Nelson and Jephson did not reach our camp till 
morning. They had to sleep in the bush, with some of the 
Zanzibaris ; as it became too dark to grope their way through 
the forest. Their only clothing is a wretched suit each, and 
they were both ill with fever when they came in, which 



80 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

increased during the day. Three- fourths of the column had 
remained out during the night, but all were in by noon. 

We spent the rest of the day in a village. We could not, 
however, succeed in drying our things; and, as everything 
was drenched, the loads were extra heavy. The marching 
through the forest after rain is the reverse of comfortable, as 
the trees keep dripping heavily for hours. 

Several of our men were badly wounded yesterday by 
wooden spikes (makonga). They had been placed in the path 
by the natives, and pierced the feet of the carriers. Many of 
them must be by this means totally disabled for months. Some 
of the spikes are made longer and stronger, for the purpose of 
penetrating the abdomen ; these were generally placed at the 
end of a log, so that when our men jumped down the spike 
penetrated with the whole momentum of the body. These 
spikes were generally pretty well concealed by leaves ; so that 
all onward movement was excessively dangerous where they 
were placed, and required the most extreme caution. 

Without a compass we should certainly have got lost for 
ever in this forest, as it is with difficulty that the sun can be 
seen at all. Mr. Stanley generally goes out on the river 
(or hews down some trees, or waits for a clearance) to take 
an observation with the sextant and theodolite. He takes 
observations every day, usually about noon, so as to localise 
our position. 

July 15. — This was Stairs's first day's marching since his 
illness. We passed through a succession of villages, with 
strong palisades and bastions in some places. I found nine 
eggs, but all were bad — our experience goes to show that 
African hens never do lay fresh eggs — also a native girl, who 
had been burnt from head to foot on one side, and could not 
run away in consequence. 

One of the Nubian soldiers got punished, and was sentenced 
to thirty days' carrier duty, for forgetting his rifle in camp. 
Stairs brought it on afterwards. 

It is very difficult to find out what the names of the places 
are here. Mr. Stanley learns a little from the natives ; who are 
captured for that purpose, and then released. 

July 16. — Mr. Stanley sent a Zanzibari running back for 
me — at 11 a.m., to hurry up and see a man who had been 
wounded through the femoral artery. He had died, before I 



1887.] FROM YAMBUYA TO AVISIBBA. 81 

reached hiin, from the excessive haemorrhage. I was greatly 
disappointed, as it was a nice case for ligature, and his life 
could easily have been saved. I remember a precisely similar 
occurrence near Alexandria in 1882, when Lieut. Howard Yise, 
of the Mounted Infantry, lost his life through ignorance of the 
most elementary facts of anatomy on the part of his comrades. 

Jephson was very feverish ; and was, consequently, sent on 
in the boat. All the rivers are so swollen that we are some- 
times up to our necks in wading through ; and we often meet 
as many as a dozen of them in a day's march. Our donkeys 
■are constantly sinking or swimming ; and they almost in- 
variably have high fever after a swim across a good-sized 
river, just like their Christian and Pagan fellow-travellers. 

July 17. — Eain fell heavily during the night, and drenched 
■everything. We started early, and marched about eight 
miles. 

July 18. — We started at noon, and went on through the 
forest till we struck the Aruwimi, at 2 P.M. Fired a few 
shots as a signal to Mr. Stanley, but he was too far ahead 
■and did not hear them. We halted at 5 p.m. We had 
no tents; but, fortunately, there was no rain. Everything 
about us was, however, soaked from that which had recently 
fallen. 

We experienced a new treat to-day in passing some hornets' 
nests ; which are built of clay, and suspended from the branches 
of trees. If passed without noise these brutes take no notice, 
but they become atrociously vicious when their auditory 
organs are over-stimulated, as they were by the passage of 
our column. They are long and black, and just touch the 
•skin in their flight, leaving a fearfully painful sting in the 
part, which becomes severely inflamed soon afterwards. 

We are all sick of rice by this time ; we would like some 
meat for a change, as we have not had a scrap since we captured 
the goat in the canoe on the 4th inst., and which lasted but a 
very short time indeed. 

July 19. — We all had a very uncomfortable night, as our 
blankets, &c, were thoroughly soaked. Under the circum- 
stances I managed to develop a colic, which more than kept 
me awake. We breakfasted on biscuits, rice, and coffee, and 
left camp at 6 A.M. By 10 a.m. we reached Mr. Stanley's 
•camping-ground of the previous night, but we continued our 

G 



$2 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

inarch for (two and a half miles further) to a village. We then 
halted so as to give the men a chance of prowling around 
for food, as they have had very little for three or four days. 
We then managed to dry our clothes, which had been all but 
mildewed. 

July 20. — Two of our Zanzibaris : Charlie No. 1, and Musa 
Bin Juma, had not returned with the foraging party. They 
must have lost their way while searching for food, and we- 
believe that they have fallen into the hands of the natives.. 
Their rifles are also lost, as every man carried his rifle. We- 
held a general inspection of companies, and marched for a 
short distance to a village. Here, to our glad surprise, the- 
natives approached us in a friendly manner in canoes, and 
sold us twelve chickens, which were very acceptable indeed. 

The natives here speak a very peculiar language ; every 
word is accented on the last syllable. 

The river here changes its direction, and runs north again. 

July 21. — We made a short march and halted in a village. 
All the villages we pass through have just been deserted ;. 
we always find the live embers on the hearth. For the last 
few days' march, the river presents a series of rapids. 

The natives here have extremely good features ; the nose is? 
flattened only in a very few instances. The skin is not black,, 
but of a moderately brownish tint. 

Nelson was very seedy to-day. I am having almost con- 
tinuous rows with the cooks for not boiling the drinking-water, 
according to directions, and not frying the manioc sufficiently. 
They are four in number, and give plenty of trouble in pro- 
portion. We have all come to the conclusion that it is much 
the best plan to have our meals separately, as it is impossible- 
that we can all sit down together, and the man who comes last- 
invariably complains that there is nothing left ! If any one 
takes a second helping he is shadowed as a gourmand, so- 
jealous are we of our scanty fare ; but the most serious ob- 
jection was taking " a little more meat, if you please," and 
quietly passing the plate on to our hungry boy to sivppleraent 
his share, so that he might keep strong and look well after us,, 
while others at the table had not half enough to eat. So often 
was each of us caught in flagrante delicto that this premeditated 
crime became a treasonable offence. 

July 22. — I was with the advance guard on this day's march.. 



1887.] FROM YAMDUYA TO AVISIBBA. 83 

We went well towards the East, so as to avoid rivers and 
swamps ; and had to cut the last 2 J miles through an almost 
solid growth of bush. After marching all day as well as we 
could get on under the circumstances, we found, on stopping 
for the night, that we had advanced but four miles in the right 
direction. We passed many villages and manioc fields, and 
stayed for the night in a village consisting of three huts. I 
saw a chicken in one of the villages as we passed, and attempted 
to secure it with the aid of my Winchester rifle, but was disap- 
pointed. It is impossible to catch these fowls alive, as they run 
like pheasants. So they always escaped from us into the 
bush. 

The natives were not in arms against us, so we managed to 
talk to a woman and child ; but as they could not tell us any- 
thing about the country, we let them go their ways. In some- 
places, the natives had cut down largej trees, so as to obstruct 
our path by letting them fall across it. Boycotting tactics !. 

Three of our men who had been missing have now returned. 
Charlie No. 1 is still absent. 

July 23. — There are several villages on the opposite bank of 
the Aruwimi ; there are also plenty of bananas there, but none 
on this side. There appears, however, to be plenty of game : 
judging from the footprints, I should say that there aife 
thousands of elephants in our vicinity ; but it is absolutely 
impossible to shoot anything as the forest is so dense. The 
river is quite 400 yards wide here, and there are no cataracts* 

Mr. Stanley found the broken-off pointed end of a sword- 
bayonet in a canoe ; this fragment must have an interesting 
history if it could be discovered. It must have had a weary 
pilgrimage in finding its way to these parts, previously un- 
trodden by the white man. It may have come from the Nile*,, 
or the Congo, or — more likely than either — from Zanzibar,. 
with the Arab slave-trader or ivory-hunter. 

I found a thing like a tun-dish, and ascertained upon inquiry 
that it was a specimen of the instrument used by the natives 
in giving enemas. On examining it closely, I found that it was 
constructed of a half cocoa-nut shell; with a hole drilled in the 
middle, for the insertion of a piece of hollow cane. 

I shot a large water-fowl, and Mr. Stanley got two chickens 
for our dinner ; so we had three birds in all. The Zanzibaris 
sometimes boil their fowls; but, as a rule, they prepare the 

G 2 



S4 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFEICA. [1887. 

chicken by removing the entrails, plucking off the" feathers, and 
opening up the body, by cutting down along either back 
or breast ; then fixing it on a sharp-pointed stick, which is 
fastened in the ground and inclined over a fire. The fowl is 
then left there till it has become quite dried up — for a couple 
of hours at least. 

July 24. — Jephson with the advance party : we marched 
ten miles (eight geographical) by the river, perhaps twenty by 
land, owing to the various curves and angles of our path. 

The men are greatly troubled with ticks — about the size and 
shape of a sheep-tick. This pest fixes itself to the lining mem- 
brane of the nose, and requires forcible removal with a forceps, 
when it sometimes carries the mucous membrane with it, and is 
invariably gorged with blood. The "jiggers" are becoming- 
less numerous ; their presence is recognised by a black tender 
spot, from which the Zanzibaris know how to remove the 
parasite with a pin or knife. 
We passed no villages to-day. 

July 25. — The natives are not so timid here as they were 
down river ; a few come up close and sell chickens, but the 
supply is so scanty that we can only aspire to a leg, wing, 
slice of back, &c, each. The natives are really very fine- 
looking. Our chiefs cocknev servant savs that the girls are 
the " 'ansomest as I has ever seen." The pleasing impression 
which might have been conveyed by their fine features is, 
however, pretty well neutralised by the fact that they all 
have a look suggestive of wishing to catch vou and toast 
you immediately. 

After a difficult march we reached a village. As usual, posts 
were stuck up around it with skulls on top ; one of these was 
distinctly " recent," as there was still some flesh on it, and its 
appearance at once develoj)ed the idea that its unhappy owner 
had been an item on the menu at a cannibal banquet lately 
held by the inhabitants. Corn-cobs, horns, and " charms," of 
various kinds, were also hung up. 

July 26. — We accounted ourselves lucky to-day, as we had 
reached a fairly comfortable village camping place last night ; 
and it was well, for the rains descended and the floods came 
during the night, as if they threatened to wash us off the face 
of the earth. It still continues. I shot a hornbill for dinner 
last evening, but it ate like parchment. We remained all day 



^- 




1887.] FROM YAMBUYA TO AVISIBBA. 85 

in camp. Forty men from each company were sent out to 
pick manioc, as we were short of provisions. I shot four 
doves for dinner to-day ; avc consider these a " big feed " for 
six of us. 

There are rapids just ahead of us on the river; accordingly, 
all the loads have been removed from the canoes, and carried 
to the head of the rapids. My medicine boxes are thoroughly 
soaked, both outside and in. 

July 27. — We started early on our march, and halted at 
3.30 p.m. I shot a hornbill. We were obliged to strip naked 
and wade across some rivers on our way. Heavy rain fell ; 
everything Ave have with us is thoroughly saturated, and we 
are obliged to sleep in wet clothes. My donkey's leg was very 
nearly broken, through the negligence of my second servant ; 
the leg was caught in a bough, and the poor brute held on by 
this one leg for about five minutes, so that he was quite lame 
afterwards. 

A dreadful calamity befell our biscuits, as the box was 
allowed to fall into the river, and now we shall have but sour 
biscuits and rice to eat, besides a chance fowl. 

There is nothing in these parts but forest and thick under- 
growth covering the whole face of the earth ; it is as dark and 
gloomy as at Hyde Park Corner on an ordinary foggy day. 

July 28. — I shot a laurie bird, which did well for our 
dinner. I was on rear-guard, and arrested a native — which is 
not an easy task, as they have nothing on to hold by — from 
whom we gathered that there is an affluent, running from the 
South into the Aruwimi, about two days ahead of us. The 
natives do a good deal of trading with canoes on the river. 

The Zanzibaris have had no food for two days. 

July 29. — We marched at about 6.30 a.m. ; I was with the 
advance party. We cut a path through some loose bush; and, 
after marching five miles, we came up with Mr. Stanley. We 
camped early (at 2 P.M.). 

We have met with no villages on our bank (south) for the 
past two clays. There was a large village opposite our camp 
this afternoon, and some of the natives were induced to come 
across with corn, fowls, &c, for sale. Each man had one 
matako and three cowries given him, to purchase food for two 
days. Eain fell heavily during the later part of the afternoon. 
July 30. — The rain poured unceasingly all night long. 



SG EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

Everything is in a dreadful mess, and the ground is like putty 
from the effects of soaking with the enormous quantity of rain 
that has recently fallen. The natives came over about 7 A.M. 
and sold corn to our men ; but the latter always spoil the 
market by giving such large prices for food. In the afternoon 
prices went up 500 per cent, so that food could not be 
purchased. 

July 31. — This is Mug wye's village. 

Each officer had orders to muster his company at 6 a.m. My 
company (No. 1) was then ordered across the river first ; 
Jephson's next ; Nelson's followed in turn. When on the 
other side, we collected plenty of manioc, bananas, and Indian 
corn. We found twelve elephants' tusks (about the value of 
£400) lying uncared for about the village. They are used by 
the natives as seats ; they do not know the great commercial 
value of ivory, for no traders have ever penetrated so far into 
the forest. I found a ring, and crescent-shaped ornament 
made from copper ; this is the first specimen of the metal with 
which we have met. (Vide sketch : Curios.) 

Aug. 1. — The natives were furiously incensed against us for 
having caught one of them: they gathered in numbers, and 
shot poisoned arrows at us. We told them, through an inter- 
preter, that we only wanted food, that our men were dying of 
hunger, and, that if they brought in three goats and some 
manioc, we would pay them and also release their man. They 
would not, however, be parleyed with. 

We marched early and stopped at 2 p.m. The Nubians' 
canoe turned over to-day ; no one was drowned, but two rifles 
were lost. The natives told us that there is a great lake 
situated two days' march before us. 

Aug. 2. — One of Jephson's men, Khamis, died of acute 
dysentery, and was buried in camp. I led the advance guard, 
and caught up our chief at luncheon. We continued our march 
till 6.30 p.m., and remained in the bush all night. Mr. Stanley 
had gone on far ahead ; we signalled for him, but he did not 
reply till 10.30 P.M. — when all was quiet, and we could hear 
the report of the rifle. We had no tents ; very fortunately 
there was no rain. 

Aug. 3. — We caught up Mr. Stanley's camp after the first 
hour's march in the morning. We did not halt till 4 P.M., 
when we heard the welcome news that there had been two 



1887.] FROM YAMBUYA TO AVISIBDA. 87 

goats captured. This is the first (quadruped's) meat we have 
seen for a month (by to-morrow). 

Stairs is feverish agaiu. 

Two of Jephson's men strayed away from camp yesterday, 
and returned to-day; they received punishment (with the 
stick). An order was now issued by Mr. Stanley that all the 
chiefs (Muniaparas) should report every evening, to their 
corresponding officers, the number of men and rifles missing. 

Aug. 4. — A day of mishaps ! Soon after our column and 
flotilla had started, two of Stairs's canoes turned over in twelve 
feet of very rapidly running water. Fourteen rifles, fifteen 
boxes of ammunition, live boxes of cowries, three loads of 
beads — all went to the bottom. Of these, however, eleven 
boxes and five rifles were recovered by divers. Hassan, a 
Somali boy, worked marvellously well under water, and took 
■up most of the things. He was secured all the time by a vine 
tied round his waist, to save him from being swept down river 
by the very strong current. 

We stopped work at 5 p.m., when we had something to eat ; 
then started for camp, which we reached at midnight. We had 
to feel for the blazes on the trees all the way in the dark. 
Thus ended seventeen hours' work for one day. 

Aug. 5. — Mr. Stanley captured ten goats yesterday, at a 
iplace called Panga. Two of these were issued to each of our 
four companies. Some curious knives were found ; they were 
•of different shapes and very indifferent material. 

Stairs cut a ten-foot road through the forest for a distance 
of one and a-half miles, so as to have the boat and canoes con- 
veyed to a point on the river above a cataract which obstructed 
our flotilla. Nelson took a party into the forest to forage, but 
returned without any food. Jephson was sent back to the 
scene of yesterday's catastrophe ; he succeeded in recovering 
two boxes and on 3 rifle. I was occupied getting the canoes 
hauled round ; they were half-way by the evening. Mr. Stanley 
tells us that, according to his observations, we have done but 
one-third the distance to the Albert Nyanza; this is very slow, 
although we appear to be going and working from morning 
till night, and the entire distance from Yambuya to the lake 
iis not quite GOO miles. 

The men got a little Indian corn ; they have, since the 
28th ult., had no food but green leaves, roots, and forest fruits. 



88 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887.. 

Jeplison saw a hippo and a crocodile. This is the first 
crocodile that has been sighted for 800 or 900 miles. 

Aug. 6. — We got our boat and canoes safely across. Some- 
of the latter had various necessary repairs performed upon 
them. Jephson, Nelson, and myself went off on foraging 
expeditions, but we got nothing. Our men are greatly reduced 
in condition, and are growing very weak for want of food. If 
this way of living continues much longer, we shall have to 
throw away some of the loads. 

Mr. Stanley went up river in the boat and saw two villages. 

Aug. 7. — Stairs was in advance to-day, with but five scouts, 
to clear the way for our advance. The remaining thirtv- 

•/ CD «/ 

five have been deputed to carry loads — on account of the great 
number of sick we have at present. 

Jephson's canoes were overset ; all the men were saved after 
a struggle, but eleven rifles and all the kits went to the 
bottom ! Fortunately there were no loads in the canoes* 
Mr. Stanley was hailed, and quickly returned to the scene of 
disaster. Nine rifles and one kettle were recovered — most of 
them by Feruzi Ali, one of my former chiefs. A splendid 
fellow. 

As there was another rapid ahead, the column marched on 
for three or four miles, and then halted to clear a road through 
the bush to haul over the boat and canoes. 

Aug. 8. — All hands busy this morning. Stairs was engaged 
in cutting the road ; Jephson in getting the boat over ; Nelson 
and myself hauling at the canoes. As soon as the boat was 
launched, Mr. Stanley rowed up the river in it to reconnoitre : 
he returned late in the evening with twelve goats — a welcome 
prize to all of us. Our men are getting extremely weak, as 
they have had no manioc since the 28th inst. In this debili- 
tated condition they suffer greatly from ticks in the nose, and 
from gastro-intestinal catarrh ; but by far the most formidable 
malady is the rapidly spreading ulcer which forms at the seat 
of the very slightest abrasion of the shin. Many are suffering 
from palpitation and anaemia. 

Aug. 9. — Mr. Stanley went on ahead of us, and captured 
eight other goats, which were distributed among the men as 
rations. The conical huts of the native villages are now 
replaced by rectangular ones. 

The men are now beo-inning to steal food from us, and from 



1887.] FROM YAMBUYA TO AVISIBBA. 80 

their comrades, and crime is on the increase, simply from 
hunger. 

One goat is made to supply six of us for two days. I 
am now mess-caterer, and have to hear a great deal of 
grumbling, as I have reduced the rice-ration to half; we 
have, even at this rate of distribution, only enough left for 
six days. I hope and pray we may come to a corn-country 
soon. 

Aug. 10. — All hands able to work turned out of camp to-day, 
to forage for food. I remained behind to look after the sick, 
drying medicines, lint, &c, and to look round the camp 
generally. Two natives told us that there was a fight here 
yesterday ; when the villagers returned from their warfare, they 
found us in possession of their village. They say that there is 
no food nearer than two clays. Nelson crossed the river, and 
brought back some bananas ; the native men on his arrival 
forsook the women and fled, and the women, in turn, dropped 
the children and took to their heels, but shortly afterwards 
returned as they saw we meant no mischief to them. 

Jephson brought in some bananas. One of his men was 
stabbed in the front of the neck with a spear; it passed 
through his windpipe and gullet. This village is one of 
Mug wye's. 

Aug. 11. — I went with the advance party, accompanied by a 
native woman as guide ; she had promised to lead us where we 
should find large quantities of provisions, goats, &c, &c. We 
marched twelve long miles to-day, but saw no food whatever, 
although we passed three villages ; they were all quite deserted 
and empty. We got to camp at 3.30 p.m., but Nelson did not 
arrive with the rear-guard till 6.15 p.m. He is now down with 
fever. I volunteered to go foraging with the men this after- 
noon, but they were too fatigued to make any further exertion, 
Hassani, a man who is dying from acute dysentery, was left 
behind in a hut, as we have no transport to carry him. 

Aug. 12. — One of our Soudanese was lost in the bush 
yesterday : such an accident may occur to any person here, for 
if one walks 100 yards away from camp into the bush, and 
turns round two or three times, he does not know where he is, 
or in what direction to move. At daybreak, Stairs and myself 
started with ninety men each, and returned at 4 p.m. — with 
enough bananas for one meal. We found three villages which 



DO EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

had only just been deserted a few Lours before, as the fires 
were still lighting. I found a dead man in a hut prepared 
for burial ; he was resting in an inclined position, his shoulders 
raised and knees drawn up and tied with a rope, which was 
fixed by the other end to the roof of the hut, so that the legs 
were flexed on the thighs, and the thighs upon the trunk. 

I shot three chickens, with one charge from my hammerless 
breechloader. It is impossible to catch any of them alive, as 
they run so fast and disappear hopelessly in the bush ; they 
are never tame, like our domesticated ones at home. I made 
a good square meal off one before returning to camp ; it is 
the first I have had for a long time. 

On returning to our quarters, I found a Zanzibari lying dead 
on the path in a pool of blood — within 200 yards of the camp. 
He had a bullet wound through the head ; which, penetrating 
at the inner canthus of the left eye, had come out in front of 
the right ear. It was not a case of suicide, as there was no 
rifle near, and the entrance wound was not scorched or stained 
with powder. The body was brought into camp by Mr. 
Stanley's orders, and an investigation held, but we learned 
nothing further. 

We reproached the old woman who had promised us yester- 
day to lead us to supplies of food, and led us twelve miles to 
nothing, but we were obliged to give her up as hopeless, she 
was either too dense or too cunning. 

Aug. 13. — We left camp at 6 a.m. ; Jephson leading. 
Xelson was with the middle section of the column, and I was 
with the rear-guard. Jephson has a large ulcer on his leg. 
We marched along a fairly good track till about noon, when 
we reached a river of about 50 yards in width. It was also 
•of considerable depth ; so we conveyed all the men and loads 
to the opposite bank in our boat and a canoe. We were 
obliged, of course, to make very many trips. My rear-guard 
•consisted of twelve men ; of whom four carried loads, and one 
led a goat. Nelson and myself were the last to cross. 

We camped in a village on the opposite bank, named Avis- 
ibba. About an hour alter the crossing, the natives assem- 
bled in very considerable force ; and made a determined attack 
upon us. They shot arrows — poisoned and non-poisoned. We 
immediately fell in our companies, and took up a defensive 
position ; keeping up a heavy independent fire for a con- 



1887.] FROM YAM BUY A TO AVIS IBB A. 91 

siderable time, when they drew off. They were on the other 
bank, and they sheltered themselves behind the trees, popping 
out from time to time to let fly their arrows, and disappearing 
again ; so that it was impossible to get a steady aim at any 
of them, and it reminded me rather forcibly of ferreting- 
rabbits. They made a fearful row ; shouting and yelling, in 
demoniacal fashion, among the trees behind. Nelson and 
myself were standing on a little promontory, and doing some 
■shooting, when I presently saw Mr. Stanley coming down 
with his gun-bearers. So I went to tell him what was going 
on ; when Jephson met me, and told me that Stairs had been 
wounded, while getting into the boat to attack and drive 
away the sharp-shooters on the other side of the river. I 
immediately returned, took him out of danger of the missiles, 
and examined him. He was very much blanched ; there 
was very little haemorrhage, but he was suffering greatly 
from shock and pain. I found a punctured wound on the 
left side of the front of his chest, just below the nipple : 
close to the apex of the heart. Just as he was hit, he had 
struck the arrow aside with his arm ; this had the effect of 
breaking it off in the wound, leaving a couple of inches 
within the chest, and well concealed behind the rib ; where 
it was covered by the overlapping intercostal muscles, which 
had closed over it. Accordingly I could not reach the 
broken fragment with the probe, and I considered cutting 
down, and hunting about for it, as — under the circum- 
stances — unjustifiable surgery. As the arrow was a poisoned 
one, I regarded suction of the wound as offering the best and 
only chance of his life ; for the point had penetrated much 
deeper than a caustic, applied externally to the wound, could 
possibly reach. Acting on the idea, I at once sucked the 
edges of the wound ; till I felt sure that I had extracted the 
greater part, if not the whole, of the adherent poison. I 
then dry-cupped — by forming a partial vacuum ; washed out 
ray mouth with a weak solution of carbolic acid, and 
injected the wound with the same, touching the edges 
finally with lunar caustic. I applied carbolised dressings to 
"the wound, and bandaged the whole securely. He was now 
very faint ; and, of course, very anxious ; so I gave him half 
a grain of morphia by hypodermic injection. In the evening 
he had a severe attack of intermittent fever, the exciting 



92 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887.. 

cause of which was, certainly, the wound he had received. 
Many of our men were also badly wounded, and were sucked 
by their comrades, whose mouths were carefully washed out 
with a disinfectant as a precaution against absorption of the- 
poison. 

When the fight was over, we posted numerous sentries, and 
fortified our position for the night. There are plenty of 
bananas in the village now, so that we have some reason to be 
thankful for the place. During the fight, Nelson was sent 
round with his company to enfilade the enemy ; but he could 
not succeed in recrossing the river, owing to its size. 



( 93 ) 



CHAPTER V. 

FROM AVISIBBA TO UGABBOWWA'S CAMP. 

Lieut. Stairs' condition — Further heavy rains — Gigantic game-pits — Guided 
by a native we are led out of our way — Lost in the forest — Saat Tato to 
the rescue — Effect of the cold and wet weather on our Zanzibaris — We 
are attacked by natives — Results of foraging against orders — Some cases 
of tetanus among the men — Fire in a neighbouring village ; anxiety 
regarding our baggage — A perfect ant-bed — I arrive at Stanley's camp — 
Medical inspection of the men — Meeting with the river column at the 
junction of the Nepoko and Aruwimi — Our camp at the Falls — Amputa- 
tion of Juma's foot — Depressing effect on the men of perpetual forest 
marching — Our donkeys — The last box of biscuits missing — Carrying 
the steel boat Advance around the cataract — My surgical dressings box — 
An Arab salute — "We fall in with Ugarrowwa and his ivory hunters — 
Shocking scene in a village — Mr. Stanley developes symptoms of dysen- 
tery — Dangers of camping near malarious marsh or swamp — Numerous 
desertions of the men, taking with them their rifles and ammunition — 
Scarcity of food — Progress of our river flotilla — Tremendous downpour of 
rain — Another Arab encampment — State visit paid by Mr. Stanley to the 
Chief — Contrast between our men and the burly Arabs. 

Aug. 14. — Stairs's temperature was 100° F. this morning ; 
-evening temperature rose to 101 '2°. There has been very 
little external haemorrhage from his wound. Respiration is 
extremely difficult, and the dyspnoea when lying down is 
very great. He also complains a good deal of pain in the 
left shoulder. Both these symptoms point to injury of the 
diaphragm, and I do not at all like either. 

The natives allowed us to sleep peacefully last night, and 
we have the additional gratification of having obtained a good 
stock of food — including a number of goats ; one of our men 
•captured eight or ten of the latter while the fight was going 
on yesterday — a wise man, and a public benefactor ! 

Nelson mustered a party of his men, aud marched up the 
river which separated us from the natives ; who still lurked 
about, and tried — unsuccessfully — to cross the river so as to 
get in rear of them. 

Aug. 15. — Early preparations were made for the march. I 



94 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887.. 

had Stairs placed on an inclined chair (lent by Mr. Stanley ), 
in a comfortable position in a large canoe. He breathes much 
more easily when raised from the horizontal position. I 
wished him to be carried down to the riverside, but he per- 
sisted — to my great anxiety — in walking the short distance- 
twenty or thirty yards) ; for he has the greatest horror of 
being looked on or treated as an invalid, except when actually 
prostrate. His temperature was now normal. I am in hopes, 
that even if I do not succeed in discovering the broken-off 
arrow-point, it will be discharged spontaneously from the 
wound ; for I consider it very imprudent to use the probe 
much or often, as its careless or heroic use would, almost to 
a certainty, be productive of more harm than good. 

When the flotilla had started, the land column commenced 
to move; Jephson leading, Nelson in the centre, myself in 
rear. We marched (away from the river) till dark. It rained 
heavily during a great part of the day, and our clothes were 
thoroughly soaked. Nelson and myself slept together in the 
forest on his waterproof sheet, and opposite a roaring fire,, 
which we had kindled under a tree. We had made a long 
and fatiguing march, so that the saturated condition of our- 
garments did not prevent us from sleeping soundly. 

Jephson (with the advance party) managed to reach a village 
just at sunset. Nelson and myself remarked that we were not 
going in the right direction, and I am very anxious about 
Stairs, as we have got his blankets and clothes, although I had' 
told him that, for fear of accidents, which might occur at any 
time to the best-regulated party in the heart of Africa, he 
ought to have these things placed in the canoe with himself. 

We marched in a south-easterly direction all day; the 
line of the river was north-east, so that we have now got to a 
considerable distance from it. About midnight, Jephson, out 
of thorough good nature, returned a couple of miles to our 
resting-jDlace by torchlight — to give us warning of the pre- 
sence of game-pits ahead, into which ourselves or our men 
might unwarily fall, if we had not been made aware of their 
existence. We fully appreciated this kindness ; but, as he 
had brought us back no food,' we did not invite him to share 
our waterproof, and he returned to his own men in camp. 
The pits referred to were formed like gigantic graves ; they 
were about fourteen feet deep, and intended for the receptiom 



1887.] FROM AVISIBBA TO UGABBOWWA'S CAMP. 95- 

of elephants and other large game. So we decided not to 
let any of our men, with their boxes, &"c, move forward during 
the night. 

Jephson agreed with us that he had gone out of his way, 
but the error was due to the directions of a native woman who 
acted as guide, and the advice of Mbaruku, a Zanzibari, who 
generally went ahead of the scouts, as he was supposed to be 
a good pilot in the forest. 

Aug. 16. — We started very early, and soon reached the 
village where Jephson had camped. We then had some 
roasted bananas, and held council as to what direction we 
should take next. This question was, however, soon decided ;, 
as Jephson told us that shots had been fired during the night,, 
which he had answered, and they were repeated in reply- 
Accordingly he started (in advance), in the direction of the- 
shots, and we did a long clay's march, stopping at 5.30 p.m. 
in a village, where we tried to make ourselves comfortable for 
the night. A great part of the march was spent in diplo- 
matising with the banks of a river which we thought we might 
be able to avoid crossing; this, however, we found impossible,, 
so we performed the transit successfully just before halting. 

We have now consumed our last grain of rice, and must in 
future be content to live on plantains, and, perhaps, an 
occasional goat — if lucky chance will throw the latter in. 
our way. 

We are extremely anxious to-night, as we have been sepa- 
rated from Mr. Stanley and the rest of the force for so long 
a time ; and Stairs has been without any treatment. 

Aug. 17. — Things now look very serious ; we are simply 
lost in the forest, with the great bulk of the Expedition, and 
there is no food whatever. Mr. Stanley is, of course, anxiously 
waiting, and wondering what has become of us ; Stairs, and 
about thirty of the men, now invalided — many of whom were 
wounded in the engagements of the 13th and 14th — are 
without medical assistance. After we had marched till 2 p.m., 
through miles of wilderness, I thought that something must 
be done to improve our position, so Nelson and I wrote a note 
to Jephson, suggesting that we should return by the same way 
we had come. He then halted the column, consulted with 
Nelson and myself, and we had decided to return, when — just 
as we were about to move off — we heard some shots, to which 



90 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

we at once responded, and presently we were gratified by seeing 
Saat Tato, Mr. Stanley's chief hunter, and six other Zanzibaris 
— corning to us through the bush. They told us that they had 
left their leader early in the morning, and caught us up by 
taking a short cut. We now gladly went with Saat Tato, but 
did not accomplish any great distance, as we had very soon to 
make the transit of a deep river ; on the opposite bank of 
which we camped for the night. 

Saat Tato told us that he had a brush with the natives on 
his way to relieve us ; they had attacked him and his party. 

Aug. 18. — We marched from daybreak till 5 p.m. ; then 
halted for the night in a village. During the latter part of 
our march, rain fell in torrents. We were obliged to carry six 
of the sick and feeble men ; one of them died in his hammock 
as we were marching, having succumbed from exposure to the 
.cold and rain. 

The Zanzibaris suffer much from the cold and wet weather 
.as we proceed. When drenched they look miserable, shiver 
.all over, turn a greenish yellow colour, and display a general 
development of cutis anserina all over the surface of the body. 
Their limbs stiffen, and actually become unfit for use ; then 
they cough, become feverish, &c, and develop all sorts of chest 
•complaints. 

At 11 A.M. we halted, as usual, to eat some plantains byway 
of luncheon (terelceso). During the meal we were surprised 
.by the wily and watchful natives, who poured in a volley of 
poisoned arrows on us from two opposite sides. One of 
our men was badly hit in the back. As we had allowed 
the column to go on before us, and the breakfast party con- 
sisted only of Nelson and myself, with a few men to guard us, 
we were obliged to remain under cover in the village, and fire 
at them as best we could ; to charge them, and so expose 
ourselves, was to make certain of being hit, and we had not 
■enough hands to carry even one more wounded man. It 
would also place us at a further disadvantage, by showing the 
-sinallness of our numbers, and so increasing the courage of 
our assailants. After a few shots, however, the natives fell 
back into the bush, and we took the opportunity of flying as 
fast as we could after our column. We soon overtook Jephson, 
\who had halted in a village with the men. 

Shortly after we got into camp some of the men disobeyed 



1887.] FROM AVISIBBA TO UGARROWWA'S CAMP. 97 

orders by going out foraging in small parties of twos and threes ; 
the result was that one man was shot in the liver by an arrow, 
and died almost immediately from haemorrhage. The head 
had penetrated to the depth of six inches. Up to the moment 
of his death the wretched victim denied that he had gone 
foraging, and persisted in saying that he had been hit by a 
native who was concealed in the hut, and shot at him just as 
he entered, the assassin then making his escape. But we are 
so accustomed to these tragic excuses for disobedience and 
imprudence from the Zanzibaris, that we have ceased to give 
much credit to them — even when offered bv the dying. 

Marafj of No. 1 company, who was wounded on the 13th, 
died to-day, in great agony, from tetanus. I also noticed 
to-day symptoms of developing tetanus in another man, who 
was wounded in the same attack — on the 13th. 

On our arrival at the camp, Jephson had tea and goat soup 
ready for the sick. I gave small but repeated enemas of a 
strong infusion of tobacco to the case of incipient tetanus. 

Aug. 19. — At 3 a.m., we were all alarmed by fire in a 
neighbouring village, where some of the Zanzibaris had slept. 
It was but fifty yards off, and the village in which we officers 
had put up was too small for the entire force. Fortunately, 
we had all the baggage and ammunition stored with us in our 
own village. Nelson very quickly went over, in the dark, and 
after some hours had the fire put out. Jephson and myself 
kept watch, as we were very anxious ; if fire broke out in our 
quarters, the whole Expedition was absolutely ruined, as all the 
ammunition and baggage were with us ; and the village street 
was so narrow that there could not be time to remove them, 
as the dry wood and leaves of which the huts were composed 
would have blazed up almost instantaneously. 

We left at 7 A.m., carrying away two wounded men; of whom 
one subsequently died of tetanus. He is the same in whom I 
noticed the premonitory symptoms yesterday. We reached 
the Aruwimi at 3 p.m., without any further accident. We 
camped for the night in the bush, close to the river. Mr. 
Stanley was not in sight ; he had encamped at some distance 
higher on the river. 

Aug. 20. — We marched early, and moved onwards, till 
2.30 p.m., keeping close to the river-bank all the time. Here 
we were stopped by a large tributary, evidently the same one 

n 



98 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

we had crossed on the 17th, when further inland ; and here we 
found the couriers whom we had dispatched to Mr. Stanley on 
the evening of the 17th. with a note explaining our position, 
so as to make his mind easy about us. The stupid men had 
simply stopped at the river, and remained there waiting for 
us, having never made any effort to get across. 

Presently a Zanzibari from the boat arrived, and told us 
to return a few hundred yards — to the junction of this river 
'with the Aruwimi, where a canoe was waiting, by Mr. Stanley's 
•orders, ready to portage the Expedition across. Darkness, 
'however, soon came on, so that but a few of the men and boxes 
could be got over. Jephson, with some men, went on in the 
fooat to Mr. Stanley, who was about a mile ahead of us. 

The place where we lay was a perfect ant-bed. It was im- 
-possible to sleep, as myriads of these vicious little demons 
"kept continuously swarming out of the ground, running all 
•over one, and leaving the whole surface of the body as painful 
•as if it had been covered with a cantharides jacket. 

Aug. 21. — Jephson returned early this morning with orders 
from Mr. Stanley that he and Nelson were to go for plantains, 
and I was to go on to Mr. Stanley's camp. When I went there, 
I found a great deal of sickness. One man, Msa, had died of 
dysentery, two of tetanus (as I could ascertain from the descrip- 
tion of their symptoms given by Mr. Stanley), and twenty- 
eight others still lie helplessly prostrate in the camp. Stairs 
looked wonderfully well, considering his history ; his tempe- 
rature was normal, there was a purulent discharge from the 
*wound, but no sign of the arrow-point has yet appeared. 

Mr. Stanley seemed depressed, but was not at all so irritated 
7 by our long delay as I had anticipated that he would have 
tbeen. 

During our absence Stairs had slept in an apartment of 
Mr. Stanley's tent, and had a very miserable time of it. 

Aug. 22. — We were aroused early, the tents were soon struck, 
. and we marched at 7 a.m. We left Jephson behind, with some 
men to guard a portion of the ammunition ; the whole could 
not be carried with us now, on account of the great number of 
sick ; so the men made a return journey in the evening to 
bring it up. 

We are having a hard time of it. There is now no meat to 
eat — only unripe plantains to live on, and the work is dreadfully 



1887.] FROM AVISIBBA TO UGARROWWA'S CAMP. 99 

fatiguing, as we are marching through bush from morning till 
night. The hornets and ants are at present even more dreaded 
pests than the natives with their poisoned arrows, so that we 
have a considerable proportion of the ills of life around us. 
Almost all the men who were wounded at the action of Avis- 
ibba have died of tetanus, except Stairs. 

Aug. 23. — We started early, and met the canoes after a 
march of half-a-mile. We put some of our boxes on board, 
.and continued our March till 4 p.m. I have eaten five small 
unripe plantains to-day, and feel very empty still. 

I held a medical inspection of all the men. The sick are 
•distributed as follows : No. 1 company, 6 sick ; No. 2, 14 ; 
No. 3, 16 ; No. 4, 21. 

Aug. 24. — Kain fell very heavily during the early part of 
the clay, and effectually prevented us from starting till 
1.30 p.m. Jephson was in advance. The weather was exceed- 
ingly rough, and the river so dangerous in consequence, that 
we were obliged to unload the flotilla at 3 p.m., and the loads 
were carried on to the camp, which was about twenty minutes 
ahead. Jephson went up river to find a canoe. 

As we pass up the river the rapids become more numerous, 
and the navigation, in consequence, more tedious and difficult. 
Stairs is doing well ; some of the periosteum has been rubbed 
•off his rib, which will have the effect of making his recovery 
more prolonged, as it is probable that a portion of the bone 
will undergo exfoliation for want of nutrition. 

Aug. 25. — We started very early. The scouts gave Nelson 
a great deal of trouble. He was in advance, and they left 
him and went off to look for food in the villages. They 
refused to go beyond a certain place ; but, when Mr. Stanley 
came up, they soon fell into their proper places, and went on 
quietly again. 

We camped at 3 p.m. The men are always 100 per cent, 
better off when we camp in a village ; they are well housed, 
without the trouble and fatigue of collecting the materials for 
sheltering themselves; they are protected from the wind and 
rain, and their firewood is always at hand; while food and 
water are also sure to be close by. 

The Zanzibaris behave very strangely. After a weary day's 
inarch, carrying from morning till night a load of from 6C lbs. 
to 80 lbs. in weight, on arriving in camp they almost in- 

" ii 2 



100 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

variably go off long distances foraging for food. Many of 
them come back wounded. 

Aug. 26. — We started at 7 a.m. Nelson was ahead with his 
company. 

We halted at a large river for luncheon, after which the 
Expedition was conveyed across in a canoe. Here we met 
Mr. Stanley and Stairs with the river party, in the boat and 
canoes. We now heard the well-known (and unmistakable) 
sound of a cataract ahead ; and, after three hours' marching, we 
reached it. This is at the junction of the Nepoko (of Junker) 
with the Aruwimi. They join at a right angle, and a beauti- 
ful cataract is formed at the line of confluence — the Nepoko 
dropping into the larger stream by a beautiful cascade. 

We encamped in a village just opposite to the Falls, where 
we got a supply of plantains and manioc, and made a bomn 
or stockade of banana stalks around our camp, so as to prevent 
the arrows penetrating directly into the houses. 

The houses are rectangular in outline, with moderately 
sloping roofs; and each has a little stockaded courtyard for 
protection of the inmates. 

Aug. 27. — We remained in camp all day, and the stronger 
men were sent in detachments to seek for food. The plantains 
are improving as we go on. Jephson was sent inland with 
100 men, to draw down to the river a dug-out canoe which had 
been made by the natives, at a distance of about 2J miles from 
the river. 

There are now very many sick in camp ; most of them 
are suffering from ulcers of the lower extremities. 

At 5 p.m. Juma (of No. 1 company) was carried into camp r 
and placed on the ground opposite Mr. Stanley's tent ; he had 
been shot with a Winchester bullet through the right foot by 
one of his companions, whether accidentally or intentionally 
we never could find out, although a court of inquiry was held. 
The missile had entered at the heel, and passed through the 
tarsal and metatarsal bones in the direction of the little toe. 
After a careful examination, in which I found that most of the 
bones of the foot had been shattered into fragments, I came to 
the conclusion that there was not the slightest chance of saving 
the foot, and that unless amputation was performed at once his 
life would also be probably lost. Mr. Stanley explained this, 
in his usual calm and persuasive way, both to Juma himself 



.1887.] FROM AVISIBBA TO UGARROWWA'S CAMP. 101 

and to Eajib Bin Pemba, the nearest relative of the injured 
man, whose consent it was necessary to obtain also. They 
agreed that I should have carte blanche to do whatever I 
thought was for the best. I had just time to operate before 
sunset ; so I there and then removed the foot, by amputating 
immediately above the ankle-joint. It was necessary to go 
a little above, as the joint itself was injured. Nelson gave 
chloroform, and 3Ir. Stanley assisted. After I had dressed the 
stump, and made the patient fairly comfortable for the night, 
3Ir. Stanley and myself proceeded to search the amputated 
foot for the impacted bullet. After an examination which 
occupied a considerable time, we found it close to the skin 
under the little toe ; having smashed the small bones of 
the foot into little fragments in all directions as it passed 
forwards. 

Later on in the evening, some unsuspecting chickens returned 
from the bush to roost in our village ; and they furnished us 
with some useful exercise in trying to catch them. 

The natives catch a great deal of fish in lobster-shaped 
baskets, which they set on the top of the cascades. Of course 
it would be suicidal to halt the entire column and attempt to 
procure sufficient fish for even one meal in this way. 

Aug. 28. — Juma's temperature is normal, and he feels well. 
The stump is well wrapped up in carbolised gauze. 

This perpetual marching through an apparently never- 
ending, dark, unbroken forest, has (very naturally, I think) a 
most depressing effect on the men. They have almost come 
to the conclusion that there is no use in hoping that we shall 
ever see the open plain again. We are all looking worn-out — 
man and beast declining. Of the six donkeys which we 
brought from Yambuya on the 28th of June, but three now 
survive, and one of these possesses at present but a very 
limited expectation of life. The three deceased donkeys died 
simply of the effects of long marching, complicated with the 
negative trials of starvation, for they were never required to 
carry anything but a few pounds, besides their saddles — which, 
however, like all English equipments for hot climates, were 
much too heavy (18 lbs. each). 

We were "bushed" to-day, and could not manage to reach 
the place where Mr. Stanley and the river party had camped. 
However, we contrived to reach a village just at dark, and we 



102 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

baited tbere for tbe nigbt. Mr. Stanley was about two miles 
in advance of us. 

Aug. 29. — Mr. Stanley struck bis camp early, expecting us 
to arrive without delay. We could not, however, start before 
7.45 A.M., as eleven boxes were still missing, their carriers 
having failed to reach camp last nigbt. We sent back Omar, 
the Muniapura, with eight men, a,t 5 . 30 A.M., to seek for the 
absentees ; and, on their arrival in camp, we pushed on to meet 
Mr. Stanley. Although he was but two miles off, we did not 
reach him till 10.30 a.m., on account of the extreme difficulty 
of cutting our way through the thick bush. W^e were also 
delayed in crossing a river, as we had but one canoe, and thi& 
could convey but six persons at a time (without loads). I was 
in advance, and, of course, first met Mr. Stanley. I received a 
wigging for my delay : he is of such a go-ahead temperament, 
that he never seems to realise obstructions except he actually 
sees them. 

Nelson was very feverish and ill yesterday, so I put him in 
a canoe. He is much better to-day. 

Aug. 30. — We struck camp at 6 . 30 a.m. ; the flotilla was 
obliged to wait till 7 . 30 a.m., on account of a fog, which cleared 
off at this hour, when the sun got up. Since we left the 
junction of the affluent Nepoko with the Aruwimi, we have 
observed that the latter is smaller in volume by about one- 
third. The native canoe-paddles have altered in form, from 
oar-shaped to spoon-shaped. 

Our highest latitude up to the present has been at a point 
near Mugwye's village, where we reached 2° North. 

Two hippos were seen to-day by the river party. Mr. Stan- 
ley, with the flotilla, made camp at 4 p.m. Jephson, in advance 
with the land force, reached camp at 5 . 30 p.m. ; the rear guard, 
of which I had charge, did not reach camp till 7 . 20 p.m. The 
men were thoroughly tired out, having marched continuously 
from 6.30 A.M. till 7.30 p.m., with the exception of the halt 
for luncheon — from 11 to 12.30. These men carry nearly 
80 lbs. weight each ; their box of ammunition weighs 60 lbs., 
Remington rifle, 9 lbs., accoutrements, dress (if any), food, 
some rounds of ammunition, sleeping-mat, &c, &c. It is very 
difficult to keep them together, for when they get fatigued they 
can easily evade the rear guard by dropping for a distance of 
five or six yards off the path into the bush, where they are 



1887.] FBOM AVISIBBA TO UGABBOWWA'S CAMP. 1C3 

quite undiscernible. They can then remain there, as they 
sometimes do, all night. Several of the men spent last night 
in this way, and came dropping in one by one in the morning : 
it is marvellous how our men obey us so well, and stick to 
their loads, under such extreme hardships. Our last box of 
biscuits is still missing, although a party was sent back to 
look for it, but they failed to find it or its bearer. We had 
been keeping this box for an unforeseen emergency, and I am 
afraid it looks like a judgment of Providence for courting 
starvation while we had them. The emergency has come now ; 
but where is the box of biscuits ? My African experience up 
to the present has led me to the conclusion that it is much 
wiser to eat European provisions while you can get them, for 
keeping them only means that somebody else eats them, at 
the particular time you want them yourself. 

We marched half a mile to the upper end of the cataract. 
Mr. Stanley ordered me to superintend the carrying of the 
Advance around the cataract ; it took sixty men to accomplish 
this feat, and the task was an anxious one, as she is " distinctly 
precious " to us. 

The box containing mv surgical dressings was made of 
unseasoned wood ; and, as an inevitable consequence, it has 
cracked and warped in several places, and lets in moisture of 
all kinds with the greatest ease. The result is, that the 
dressings are getting badly injured ; there is hardly a day 
during which the box does not receive a thorough soaking,, 
either by heavy rain or a plunge in some river. 

Stairs, I am gratified to say, is going on very well. 

Aug. 31. — Mr. Stanley came down to relieve me of the 
transport of the boat over the cataract. While engaged in 
this way, we heard several shots fired off in the camp, which 
sounded like an attack ; or, perhaps, an Arab salute, which is. 
just as furious as — and sometimes more destructive than — an 
actual fight with the natives ; as the high-handed members of 
this assuming nationality who bear rifles in Africa are by no 
means careful, when letting them off in hospitable fashion, to 
take any precaution whatever to prevent their blowing out 
the brains of their casual acquaintances. It was just 3 p.m. 
then. We rushed up to the camp as fast as we could, and 
were surprised to find some men there with tower muskets, 
who spoke Kiswahili, and told us that thev were Ugarrowwa's 



104 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATOR I AL AFRICA. [1887. 

men, under the leadership of a chief named Balyozi. They 
had very hospitably brought us a present of some fowls and a 
goat. Ugarrowwa is a Zanzibari chief, and is slave to the great 
ivory hunter, Abed Bin Salem. He has settled just now higher 
up the Aruwimi, for the purpose of collecting ivory. These 
men looked prepossessingly smart and intelligent, and they 
had their rifles bright, clean, and in good order. They were 
cordially received by our men, who had long ago given up all 
hope of hearing their native tongue spoken again. Our leader 
speaks their language fluently ; we officers are only beginning 
to make ourselves understood, for the language is a very 
copious one. 

Sept. 1. — I was with the advance column on to-day's march. 
We got over four or five miles, and halted for the day at 
11 a.m. We passed through a very long village, where the 
men got plenty of plantains. We saw three children impaled 
on spears here : one was dead, but the other two were still 
living. The boat was taken out of the water by Jephson, and 
the men were sent back for a store of plantains. 

Sept. 2. — We remained in camp all day. I dried my 
clothes and medicines, dressings, &c, all of which had been 
wet for the past ten days. There had been no time for drying 
them, as we marched from morning till night, and there is no 
chance of drying in the forest on account of the complete 
shutting off of the sun's rays by the dense foliage. 

I was called up at 3 a.m. to attend Mr. Stanley, who told 
me that he was developing symptoms of dysentery, as he 
had great tenesmus, &c. Curiously enough, all of us white 
men are now suffering from the same symptoms, and accom- 
panied in each case by fever. We are camped in a low, 
swampy place, and the wind is blowing from the marsh towards 
us ; possibly this is the cause of the sickness. Mr. Stanley 
thinks it may be due to the drinking water, which had probably 
been drawn by the careless Zanzibari cook from the river's 
margin, where the water close to the brink is usually soiled 
by the customary habits of ablution of the Zanzibaris. 

The men were sent off for plantains, but some did not 
return ; and it is believed that they have deserted to Ugar- 
rowwa's camp, which is supposed to be somewhere near. 

Sept. 3. — We did not leave camp until 10 a.m., as the 
morning was occupied giving each man twenty rounds of 



1887.] FROM AVISIBBA TO UGARROWWA'S CAMP. 105 

ammunition, and ten rounds to each Winchester repeater ; and 
also, in prosecuting a search for the supposed deserters. Our 
leader looks very seedy, although he felt a little better after 
breakfasting on a pill of lead and opium. His condition gives 
me great anxiety, as we would be in a terrible fix if anything 
serious happened to him. All the whites are bilious and weak 
after their sudden illness. I still think it was the position of 
the camp that made us all ill ; it was placed near a swampy, 
foetid, malarious marsh, the exhalations of which were suf- 
ficiently copious to ensure the destruction of any number of 
Europeans who remained long in its vicinity. I saw this 
when we were about to encamp, but we are obliged to take 
any place we can get. 

I was on rear guard, and was obliged to leave one Zanzibari 
behind for want of transport, as he could not march. Before 
leaving camp we buried several tusks of ivory, some shovels, 
axes, &c, as we have not sufficient hands to "carry them further. 

Sept. 4. — AVe did not leave camp till 10 a.m., as the whole 
morning was occupied in rearranging the companies — for so 
manv men have deserted since we met with Uo;arrowwa's 
people, that it has been causing considerable confusion, and 
threatens disaster. Twelve men absconded last night with 
their rifles, and already about a dozen boxes of ammunition 
have been lost or taken by deserters ; so that, at this rate of 
dispersion, our stores would seem to be doomed to early 
destruction. 

Mr. Stanley had a general muster, and made a speech to the 
men, telling them that when they have brought the ammuni- 
tion to Emin Pasha their hard work will all be over. Every 
•one is out of plantains, so that we have now nothing to eat, 
but are nourishing ourselves with the hope that we may have 
luck enouo-h to find some food to-morrow. 

The rifles of a good many of the men — whom Mr. Stanley 
saw reason to suspect — were now disabled by having the spring 
taken out. 

Sept. 5. — Weave all ivitliout food. We left camp early; 
I was in advance, and we arrived early in the day at some 
villages where we got some plantains and three goats. The 
feasting which followed was simply luxurious, as we have been 
starving so long. It takes at least two of our men in their 
present weak condition to bring one goat to a standstill. 



106 EXPEBIEXCES IN EQUATORIAL AEBICA. [1887.. 

We expect more desertions ; as it is rumoured that Ugarrow- 
wa's men are loafing about in the bush, trying to induce our 
men to go over to them, and share their fortunes. Mr. 
Stanley never anticipated these difficulties, as he thought he 
should be at Wadelai about the 15th of August. A bright pro- 
spect ! two more months of this kind of life before we hear 
anything: of Emin ! 

Sept. 6. — I was on rear guard ; we marched from 7 a.m. till 
6 p.m. and camped below a cataract. We were so tired and 
wet that we have opened some brandy (for the first time), and 
added it to our tea. Three men, who were unable to march, 
had to be carried all day. 

Sept. 7. — The canoes and boat were drawn on rollers oyer a 
long flat surface of rock, and in this way passed the cataract. 
The transport of the canoes occupied 100 men. Stairs, Jeph- 
son, Kelson, and myself were sent across the river, with our 
companies, to get food : we returned in the evening. Our camp 
is in a beautiful position — on a bluff at the angle of the river. 
It overlooks the cataract, which presents a very attractive 
scene. 

Sept. 8. — All No. 1 Company's loads were carried in canoes, 
and I was in advance, while Nelson took the rear guard. 
Travelling to-day was fearfully difficult, as there is not a 
vestige of a path, and the scouts, forty in number, had to 
cut with their bill-hooks through solid bush all the way. 
Our course was along the side of a very steep hill, and we 
travelled in a southerly direction during the whole day's 
march, stopping to camp at 2.30 P.M. The river made one 
very large curve, and several smaller ones, as we passed by it. 

This is the seventy-third day of our march ; it is slow, and 
tries one's patience : I wonder how Job would have got on 
here? 

Sept. 9. — Jephson's loads were distributed between the boat 
and canoes. They had bye-and-bye to be taken out, as a rapid 
obstructed the passage ; after passing which they were replaced, 
and proceeded as before, passing another rapid without being- 
discharged. The land party halted to camp at 3.30 P.ivr. Mr. 
Stanley arrived with the flotilla three hours later. Foraging 
parties were sent across the river here ; the men returned (very 
late) with large quantities of plantains, tobacco, and bhang 
(i.e., Indian hemp), which the natives smoke, and all of which 



1887.] FROM AVISIBBA TO UGABROWWA'S CAMP. 107 

we confiscated, as it is very injurious ; its first effect is exhilara- 
tion of spirits, a kind of inebriation ; then mirthful delirium ; 
then confusion of intellect ; and, finally, sleep. 

Sept. 10. — I was in advance to-clay. Nelson's loads were 
taken in the Advance and the canoes. We stopped at 9 a.m., 
and pitched our tents close to the foot of a large cataract. 
Very heavy rain fell, thoroughly drenching our tents and 
ourselves, with the entire baggage. About two and a half 
hours later, Mr. Stanley arrived with the flotilla ; and, after 
surveying the cataract, sent the boat and canoes ahead as far 
as they could go. He also ordered the column to advance to 
a new camping-ground, about a mile further on. 

This is the largest cataract we have vet encountered. 
Nelson's donkey, which has been on the eve of dying of 
starvation, strayed away into the bush and is lost : it is too 
weak to give us notice of its whereabouts by braying. 

Sept. 11. — The Advance was carried beyond the rapids in five 
pieces. The canoes were sunk. Nelson had an unsuccessful 
hunt for his donkey. I went foraging with a party of forty 
men, and succeeded in getting some plantains. 

We were obliged to leave our Somali boy behind ; he was 
unable to travel further, being literally reduced to a living 
skeleton — integument and bone. 

Sept. 12. — The morning was wet, but soon cleared up. 
There was a parade for health-inspection before starting, and 
three sick men were left behind in camp, as they were unable 
to march. Peringania (Company No. 1) was of the number. 
We had no transport. 

Sept. 13. — Saadi (Muniapara), a chief in No. 2 Company, was 
sent back early this morning to hunt up one of his men who 
had not come in with his box of ammunition. As there is 
no sign of the return of either, we conclude that the Washenzi 
have caught him, as he took but one companion with him, 
instead of the usual escort of Hxe or ten men. We marched 
to a rapid, which we reached at 12.30 p.m. We then passed 
through a village, and camped close by the river. All baggage 
was taken from the canoes and boat, and piled carefully up. 
Jephson unscrewed the boat into its sections. 

Sept. 11. — We cut a track for the canoes and boat; the 
latter was carried by sixty men. One canoe was brought 
round by the river. 



108 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

Very heavy rain fell to-day. 

Sept. 15. — We did not commence marching till late in the 
day, on account of the very heavy rain. The latitude is now 
1° 24' 1ST. One of Nelson's men ran away with a box of 
ammunition. 

Last night's downpour of rain left us with two and a half 
feet of water in our tents this morning ; so that all articles too 
heavy to float had to be fished for : compass, watches, &c, &c. 

The desertions are strong arguments in favour of the Congo 
route, for as even here amongst enemies they desert, what 
would have happened if Mr. Stanley had taken advice and 
gone from the East Coast? Simply this : we would not have 
had a man left by this time, as they would have all run back 
to Zanzibar as they have done from other explorers ; besides, 
the distance — from where we disembarked from the steamers — 
is not a third so long as the journey from the East Coast would 
have been to where we hope to meet Emin. 

Sept. 16. — I was in advance to-day. We marched about 
eight miles. At noon we heard loud firing on the river, the 
reports seemed very much louder than those of the Kemington 
or Winchester rifle. We were, of course, considerably agitated, 
and immediate preparations were made to resist an attack. I 
went towards the river, and heard from Mr. Stanley that a 
party of Arabs had been to visit him, and fired a salute, which 
was the report we had heard. This was a pleasant surprise — 
meeting with semi-civilized people in these parts, after our 
experience of forest life. They had come over from their camp 
on the opposite side of the river ; and a large staff — including 
some women who sang — accompanied the chief. They had a 
large number of guns and rifles, from the modern Winchester 
to the flint-lock, and these were all well kept and bright. The 
chief presented Mr. Stanley with a few goats, chickens, 
rice, and plantains. We forded across a small river, and 
pitched camp on the opposite side, delighted with our new 
acquaintances. 

Sept. 17. — Jephson was in advance to-day ; we marched two 
miles — to a point on the river just opposite the Arab camp, 
where we pitched ours. The Arab camp looks a compact 
and comfortable village of mud and wood huts, with large 
verandahs ; and the entire place is well fortified. 31r. Stanley 
went in his best suit, fragrant with " wood violet," which 



1887.] FBOM AVISIBBA TO UGABBOWWA'S CAMP. 109 

especially acids to one's importance amongst these people, and 
wearing a sword (which was presented to him by Sayed 
Bargask, Sultan of Zanzibar) as a talismanic weapon, to pay 
a state visit to the chief. This Sultan has more power in 
Central Africa, than perhaps any other man living. (It is the 
custom among the Arabs to wear side-arms of some sort on 
all great occasions.) 

The Arabs and their men (principally Many uema) came across 
the river and did a good trade with our men — exchanging 
plantains and other eatables for clothes, cowries, and beads. 
Our men stripped almost naked for this barter; their re- 
collections of the starvation of our forest march proved stronger 
than any other argument. We got plantain flour here for 
the first time, even the Zanzibaris never knew of this pre- 
paration. 

What a contrast the sleek, fat, and burly Arabs made with 
our lank and sickly skeletons, reduced as they are by the hard- 
ships of the forest and the march ! The latter have all an 
ashy-grey colour, terribly suggestive of decomposition; the- 
Arabs look sleek and prosperous. 



110 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 



CHAPTER VI. 

FROM UGAEROWWA'S TO IPOTO. 

We barter with the Arabs for food — Our sick are left in tlieir charge — 
Ugarrowwa captures three deserters, of whom we make examples — 
Crossing the Lenda river — Devastated villages — Another big cataract — ■ 
Mr. Stanley's dog Randy and the guinea fowl — Grim starvation, grim 
•despair have possession of us — Welcome discovery of some plantain 
trees — Providential escape of Lieut. Stairs from an elephant — Fair 
specimen of a Zanzibari fact — We buy rice from some passing Manyuema 
— The forest an utter wilderness — Foragers are sent back to the banana 
plantation — We traverse very rough ground — Wadi Khamis's canoe — 
On the wrong track : our column returns to the Aruwimi — Junction of 
the Ituri and Ihuru rivers — Mr. Stanley holds a shauri — Nelson and the 
sick are left behind in camp — Unsuccessful efforts to find game or food 
— I have another attack of high fever — Cakes made of large brown beans 
— My faithful chief, Feruzi Ali, wounded by savages — Our second 
starvation camp — Capture of a native woman — Rehani deserts, taking 
my clothes with him — Jephson arrives in camp with some Indian corn 
■ — The steel boat Advance — Critical state of Feruzi Ali — I approach the 
Adamite state of existence — We hold a long shauri — Accident to men 
while collecting mdbunga fruit — Mr. Stanley shoots his donkey and 
distributes the flesh amongst us — Forest fruits our only means of 
sustenance — We disturb a hornets' nest — My boy steals some of my 
Indian corn — Arrival at the longed-for Arab village of Ipoto — Reception 
by the Manyuema. 

Sept. 18. — All the companies mustered in their full strength 
for the march, leaving those unable to proceed to stay with 
Ugarrowwa till our return. No. 1 left eight Soudanese and 
five Somalis behind ; No. 2 left fifteen ; No. 3, twelve ; No. 4, 
eleven. Also about forty Remington rifles, made unserviceable 
by removing the springs. Mr. Stanley made arrangements 
that these Arabs should communicate with the rear column, 
and carry letters to Barttelot. The Maxim gun was fired to 
impress and amuse the Arabs ; but it did not work very 
smoothly. We all sold what we could possibly spare of our . 
scanty kit for food. Nelson gave a shirt to an Arab chief for 
some plantains ; but, having paid first, he received no plan- 
tains, and never again saw the man who took his shirt; the 



1887.] FROM UGARBOWWA'S TO IPOTO. Ill 

market was brisk, rny blue and white pyjamas were first 
favourites. 

Sept. 19. — We marched about eight miles. It was very 
slow work, as the ground was so very greasy and slippery after 
the rain. The flotilla was escorted by the Arabs for a short 
distance — playing, singing, and beating drums. We were 
conveyed across a river in canoes. Three of our men had 
deserted, and remained in our camp, hoping to go over to the 
Arabs. They were, however, promptly seized by Ugarrowwa, 
who gave them fifty each with the cowbash, and delivered them 
up to Mr. Stanley, sending them quickly after him in canoes. 
The wretched men were immediately tied to trees for the night ; 
the Arabs were cordially thanked, and received a present for 
what they had done. 

Sept. 20. — Early in the cold morning all the companies 
were formed into a square, and the three deserters were placed 
in the centre; they were all doomed to be hanged. They 
drew lots (short and long) who should go first ; the second to 
be executed to-morrow, and the third next day. Mabruki 
-was the first to go ; so a rope was placed about his neck, and 
he was tied to the top of a flexible tree which was pulled down 
for the purpose. This tree, however, cracked; and, accordingly, 
•could not rebound, so the rope was thrown across a strong- 
branch, and he was pulled up by his comrades who were 
prisoners. When a short interval had elapsed and Mr. Stanley 
.asked the question, "Is he dead?" I answered, "Yes," and 
the column immediately filed out of camp, leaving Mabruki's 
lifeless body hanging to the tree. 

Sept. 21. — During the night one of the deserters got away, 
and also two chickens were lost — the latter was looked upon 
by many as the much more serious tribulation. The remaining 
deserter was brought on the scene at an early hour; all the 
men were fallen in in square formation, and, just as the rope 
was adjusted and everything ready for the suspension of the 
unhappy culprit, all the chiefs came forward as one man and 
fell at Mr. Stanley's feet, which they kissed, and begged the 
prisoner's life. This was granted (the tactics had been suggested 
by Mr. Stanley himself to the head chief). In the evening 
the other deserter turned up, and our leader took the oppor- 
tunity of making a violent and impressive speech to the men. 
I was in advance, and in the afternoon reached a river, the 



112 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

Lenda, about 120 yards in width. This we crossed in canoes^ 
and we immediately camped on the other side. The men 
were let stroll off for food, as they had none ; they returned 
without any. We took advantage of the fine weather to-day 
to dry our clothes, medicines, dressings, &c, which sadly 
needed the attention, as they had been thoroughly soaked for 
several days. We have rarely been so hard up for food. 

Nelson got a shot at an elephant to-day. 

Sept. 22. — We started without breakfast, and continued our 
march without luncheon. In the evening the men or>t a little 
food — where we camped. We also procured a goat, which was 
rapidly dismembered. 

Sept. 23. — We left camp at 6.30 a.m.. and marched till 
5 p.m., with the exception of an hour and a half spent at 
luncheon. We passed through a very large banana plantation 
where the men got a little food. Mr. Stanley had a shot at an 
elephant from the boat. He was hit but not killed (as he lay 
asleep on an island in the river). None of our rifles are heavy 
enough for this kind of game. 

Nelson was carried in a canoe to-day; he was unable to* 
march, as he has several ulcers on his toes. 

Ugarrowwa and his ivory-hunting party have certainly- 
spread desolation all around this part of the country ; we every 
day pass by ruined villages, the natives of which have all been 
chased away, or destroyed. 

We expect to meet more Arabs to-morrow. 

Sept. 24. — All our men, with the small exception of the 
scouts and six others, were off foraging to-day. The party- 
kept in camp were set to work to cut a road to the top of the 
cataract : it is 150 yards long. The fall is about 40 feet in 
height, so that it is one of the most voluminous we have 
hitherto met with. 

Several of the men have gangrenous ulcers of the feet and 
legs — simply from the want of nutritious food ; as they have 
had to live exclusively on manioc and bananas since leaving- 
Stanley Pool in April last. It was a very great relief to Hie- 
to have so many of the sick left behind at Ugarrowwa's ; as I 
was really getting very seedy from the amount of work I was- 
obliged to do amongst them. 

Sept. 25. — We left camp early and marched to the foot of a 
cataract. Here all the loads were taken from the canoes, and 



1887.] FROM UGARROWWA'S TO IPOTO. 113 

carried by the men to a point on the bank above the cataract. 
The Advance was also conveyed in sections; and six canoes 
were dragged along the same path. 

Sept. 26. — No breahfast, no luncheon ; grim- starvation, grim 
despair have possession of us. We came to " bad water " after 
two miles of marching; when the canoes were unloaded, and 
again reloaded after passing. This bad water interval extended 
for about two miles, with patches of smooth water here and 
there. 

Curiously enough, Mr. Stanley's dog Eandy caught a guinea- 
fowl, so that Mr. Stanley, Nelson, Stairs, Jephson, and myself 
had each something to eat. We were all very much exhausted 
from hunger, especially the men, as they had had no food for 
days, except an occasional fruit or any other eatable which they 
could find in the forest. This surprise was providential, and a 
marvellous coincidence, as our chief had halted the starving 
column — to rest a little, and had just been saying that the 
days of miracles had not yet passed, alluding to Elijah being 
fed by the ravens, &c, when the bird fell at our feet : it was 
the only guinea-fowl we saw in the entire forest ! 

Sept. 27. — Great luck ! Just opposite our camp were some 
plantain trees. On making the discovery, all the men were 
rowed across the river ; thev returned in the evening with a 
great quantity of bananas, which were greedily devoured. The 
men were served with seventy-five plantains each ; they were 
not, however, very large or substantial ; I disposed of twenty 
at one sitting without any prominent ill-effects. 

Nelson, Jephson, and myself remained in camp. I was 
looking after the sick and dressing ulcers, all day long. Stairs 
was sent up river to reconnoitre, and had an extremely pro- 
vidential escape from an elephant which he had wounded. 
The infuriated animal charged him, but he saved himself by 
crouching behind a tree. All the sporting Zanzibaris were off 
and up the trees like lamplighters, when they saw the elephant 
charging. Stairs wounded a second elephant, and one hippo. 

Sept. 28. — We struck camp early, and made a march of 
about nine miles up river, to a point opposite an island on 
which we saw a large number of huts, and a crowd of natives 
who commenced shouting and shooting arrows. Mr. Stanley, 
who was with the flotilla, had some bad water to pass ; so that 
he did not arrive so soon as we did ; and we could not cross 

I 



114 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

to the island, as we had no canoe. The natives soon cleared 
out, and crossed in canoes to the opposite bank. When they 
had all gone, some of our men swam to the island ; but found 
nothing there to eat except some dried pieces of elephant' s flesh. 

Sept. 29. — Mr. Stanley arrived at 9 a.m., with the flotilla. 
The last of the canoes (with Nelson in it) did not drop in till 
about 4 p.m. One of the Zanzibaris told Mr. Stanley, while he 
was anxiously awaiting the arrival of this canoe, that he had 
seen Nelson alone in the canoe, far down the river, turning 
round and round in the rapids. This was, of course, pure 
imagination ; but is a fair specimen of a Zanzibari fact, and 
shows what they are capable of portraying if listened to with 
any attention. 

The men went in search of food, but found none. 

Sept. 30. — I was in advance to-day. We started early and 
marched till 11 . 30 a.m., when we halted for rest and " terekeso." 
This was prepared and despatched, at 12.30 p.m., when we 
resumed our march. We progressed steadily then, till we 
arrived at a small primitive native village ; where I halted till 
Mr. Stanley came up. We then pitched camp, and the canoes 
arrived soon after. 

At 2.30 p.m. five or six Manyuema arrived, and fired a salute. 
They said that they came from a settlement on the Lenda, 
about four days off. They offered for sale rice in small 
quantities, which we purchased dearly. Our men went off in 
various directions in search of food, but found none. Stairs 
found a small antelope, like a gazelle, caught in a native 
game-trap. Didn't we enjoy the prize ! The flesh was beauti- 
fully tender. 

Oct. 1. — Our men are starving. They have been away all 
day for food, but found little or none ; two men of No. 1 
company, however, accidentally struck a banana plantation in 
their wanderings, and brought in some good specimejis. 

The forest is such an utter wiklerness — huge gloomy trees 
and dense thick bush beneath — there is no chance of shootino- 
anything in it ; one can never see more than a few yards ahead. 
If any person loses consciousness of the exact direction in 
which he started, after having penetrated to a distance of a 
few perches in the bush, he has no means whatever of guiding 
him back except he has a compass to steer with. No visible 
or tangible trace is left in the dense undergrowth ; and, 



1887.] FROM UGARROWWA'S TO IPO TO. 115 

accordingly, it is most dangerous for the men to wander from 
the line of march, or from the camping-place, even for any 
trifling distance. Of all the scenes of desolation for any 
human being to be left alone in ! I could not have fancied it 
before I came here. Snowed in at the North Pole, launched 
in a canoe in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, hardly either 
could compare with it. 

Oct. 2. — As food is of vital importance, we halted again to- 
day ; and the men were sent off for something edible to the 
banana plantation which had been discovered yesterday. They 
were under command of Stairs and myself. In the evening 
we returned, with all our men and a sufficient supply of tiny 
bananas to give each person forty. Invariably a white officer 
takes command of his Company on a foraging excursion, as 
•the Zanzibaris are reckless and lose themselves. They do not 
like the arrangement, as they say that the white man always 
wants them to " fall in," "fall in." 

Oct. 3. — We started early, and marched over exceedingly 
'difficult ground — very high hills and deep valleys were 
traversed. Camped at the bottom of a ravine by the river 
bank (at 6 . 30 p.m.), after a wearying march of five miles. We 
ascended 300 feet to-day. It was now impossible to march 
•close to the river, on account of the enormous boulders and 
the extreme ruggedness of the surface between. The boulders 
would have to be climbed over or walked around — either 
•forming a laborious operation, and more than doubling the 
'distance to be traversed ; and the roughness of the stony 
surface between is a great deal too trying for the feet, badly 
shod indeed we now are for such peregrinations. Our march, 
after choosing our ground, was hard enough. 

Oct. 4. — We marched to-day over atrociously bad ground, 
and succeeded in making but two miles. Stairs was in 
•advance ; the entire Expedition was transported across the 
Aruwimi river to the right bank, an operation which lasted from 
10 a.m. till 2 p.m.; and, fortunately, was completed without any 
accident. Hatebo Wadi Khamis very nearly lost his canoe, 
full of boxes and men. It got broadside on to the current, 
and was swept rapidly down stream ; and were it not for the 
; great skill and agility displayed by the man who guided it, 
by means of a paddle at the stern, all would have been lost. 
As it was, the canoe was got safely to shore. 

i 2 



116 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

We camped on the river bank for the night. We were tired 
enough to wish for the halt, short as was the actual distance 
we had passed. 

Oct. 5. — I led the advance guard to-day, and, as marching 
by the river was so excessively difficult, I struck inland, and 
mounted the neighbouring hills, where I found a good path. 
Along this we marched till 10 A.M., when we came to a splendid 
cataract, where the water fell through a perpendicular height 
of over 100 feet. Just here Stairs (who was in command of 
the rear guard) received a letter from Stanley, telling him to 
return, as we were following a tributary of the Aruwimi, and 
not the river itself. We accordingly returned for about two 
miles, and re-crossed the Aruwimi — just at the junction of the 
Ihuru and Ituri to form the Aruwimi trunk. 

Having re-crossed the river, I was immediately dispatched to 
cut through the bush, so as to form a road up to the side of the 
hill for our next day's march. Jephson was deputed to take 
the boat to pieces, so as to have her ready to be carried con- 
veniently. Our river navigation is now at an end for the 
present ; we have reached the union of the parent streams which 
join to form the infant Aruwimi ; the Ituri descending in a 
series of cataracts, and the Ihuru issuing with boisterous velocity 
from a rocky ravine. Each of these presents a comparatively 
narrow bed, and is far too violent in its course to tempt the 
confidence of the oarsman. 

Oct. 6. — At daybreak — as soon as all were awake and stirring 
— a shauri was held between Mr. Stanley, his officers, and the 
chiefs among the men, (who correspond to non-commissioned 
officers.) The result of the conference was that it was decided 
to sink all the canoes, and leave behind every one unable to 
march. Accordingly fifty-two sick men, with Capt. Nelson, 
who was also an invalid, and one chief — Umari — were left 
behind. Kashid and three other chiefs were sent ahead, to 
try and find some food for the starving men ; while Mr. 
Stanley, at the head of the remainder of the column, marched 
off — with as many loads as our enfeebled men could carry T 
including the boat. The remaining loads, eighty-one in 
number, were left behind with Nelson. We are to push on y 
as fast as we can, to reach the Arab settlement, which we 
have been told lies before us ; and to send back food for the- 
relief of the invalid party we are leaving behind, as soon as. 



1887.] FROM UGARROWWA'S TO IPOTO. 117 

we reach it. The boat had now been in the water for the 
past ninety-two days. 

The road which I had prepared yesterday was utilised for 
the march out of camp ; and the mingled picture — of scenic- 
loveliness and ghastly human bereavement — which lay around 
us as we prepared to move, could hardly be overdrawn in the 
wildest nights of imagination. The continuous melancholy 
moan of the cataract close by, made the picture more impres- 
sive ; it was altogether the most heartrending good-bye I have 
ever experienced or witnessed. I cannot fancy a more trying 
position than that of abandoning, in this wilderness of hunger 
and desolation, our white companion and so many faithful 
men ; every one of whom has risked his life dozens of times for 
the relief of our hypothetical friend, Emin Pasha. 

And so we turned our backs on our poor helpless comrade, 
and the fifty-two morbid specimens of humanity which were 
strewn around him, on the lone sandy terrace formed by the 
southern bank of the Ituri. The surrounding prospect was 
limited to the river and the junction of its two formative 
tributaries, shut in by steep and woody hills, rising from the 
water's edge to a height of about 600 feet. And the onlv 
sound was the monotonous roar and splash of the cataracts and 
rapids, which might have been enjoyable enough in another 
place, and under more favourable circumstances. 

[This is " Starvation Camp " No. L] 

Oct. 7. — Mr. Stanley went in advance to-day ; Stairs, Jeph- 
son, and myself formed the rear guard of the column. The 
numbers were now so reduced, that we three were the only 
men available for the rear guard, and it was a continuous 
scene of pushing the men along, and lifting boxes on their 
heads. We did not reach camp for the night. The boat was 
always behind ; being caught every few yards in the vines and 
bush, as the pioneers had cut but an imperfect path for us. 

I had a severe feverish attack to-day, so I did little except 
look out for a stray shot, which, however, I did not succeed in 
obtaining. Mr. Stanley hit an elephant, which escaped to an 
island. We are now living on our only all, viz., two tea- 
spoonfuls of arrowroot twice a day, supplemented by fungoids 
and amoma, fruit, etc. 

We marched about eleven miles to-day. 

Oct. 8 — We started at day-break. Jephson and Stairs 



118 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887.. 

bringing ivp the rear. I walked on to Mr. Stanley, who had 
pitched his tent opposite to an uninhabited island. He sent me 
back to tell Jephson to put the boat in the water, and have a 
look out for the wounded elephant. The animal, however, did 
not come within sight. Stairs and myself went off for a shot,. 
but got nothing, as the men had been exploring the bush, in 
the search for forest fruit, and frightened away the game. 

I had another attack of high fever to-day. We marched but 
three miles. Some of our men found a little corn on the island,, 
some of which was distributed to the whites ; our share was two 
milk-tinsful to each. Even this small quantity was a great 
boon to us in our present abandoned condition. I could attempt 
to eat very little of my portion, as my fever was too high. My 
evil star must be in the ascendant at the present period ; I 
can seldom obtain food, and when I do I am unable to use it. 

Oct. 9. — All available men were sent across the river, to hunt 
through the forest for food. I proposed to Mr. Stanley to kill 
the donkeys, but he said, " Wait." The foraging party was- 
under the guidance of a native woman. Our corn was finished 
to-day, so that we have absolutely nothing to live on now but 
forest fruits, fungi growing on decaying trees, and leaves of the- 
pepper-plant. We are all of us now learning a new experience ; 
we have not had such a time before. This is the anniversary 
of Jephson's birthday ; not a particularly bright one for him. 
One old native woman had collected large brown beans,, 
about three or four inches in diameter, scraped them, and made 
the scrapings into little cakes, which she toasted and ate. We- 
followed this inspiring example, and found the cakes fairly 
good, — although coarse, and horse-chestnutty in flavour. The 
beans had grown on a large forest tree, witli large green leaves,, 
and of a height of 150 to 200 feet. 

Oct. 10. — Things look blacker now than ever, as the party 
which went off in search of food yesterday have not yet re- 
turned. We have tried our best to get a shot, and failed; 
we feel quite exhausted. Stairs tried to fish to-day, and 
succeeded in pulling up three aquatic specimens looking* 
somewhat like gudgeon. Our position is really desperate ; 
to go back is certain starvation ; to go forward does not appear 
very much more encouraging. 

J CO 

In the evening a few men crossed in a canoe to an island, to 
fetch grass for the donkeys : they were there set upon by some 



1887.] FROM UGARROWWA'S TO 1P0T0. 119 

savages who lay in ambush, and niy best and faithful chief, 
Feruzi Ali, was felled to the ground by a huge knife [which I 
have still in my possession, vide No. 8 sketch, page 182] that 
penetrated both tables of the skull and depressed the bone, 
causing compression of the brain. His shoulder was also badly 
wounded. 

The foraging party returned in the evening, with but very 
little food, and great quantities of bhang, which is freely smoked 
by the natives. This is " Starvation Camp " No. II. 

Oct. 11. — We started early; Mr, Stanley was in advance, 
Jephson and Stairs urging on the men in the rear. All loads 
were carried, as twenty-four men were now relieved from 

convevino* the sections of the Advance. I was ordered to wait 

•/ ~ 

behind in camp with a small party (till 12 o'clock), so as to 
get across the river, by canoe, any men who had not turned up 
last night, and might still overtake us in time. None, how- 
ever, came ; so I sank the canoe, and hurried after the column, 
which I overtook at 5.30 p.m. The boat went by the river, but 
was greatly delayed by cataracts. Morabo (of Bumbire noto- 
riety) captured a woman with beads on, which she had got 
from the Arabs, and we tried to get some information from her 
as to the whereabouts of these people. The natives, however, 
have, unfortunately, no ideas as to time and space of a suffi- 
ciently definite nature to make their opinions on such matters 
in the smallest degree reliable. So we could not ascertain 
how far off the much wished-for Arab station may be. They 
mark off distances on their arms. From the shoulder to the 
tips of their fingers means one day's march. 

We passed a camp about 4 p.m., which had been occupied by 
the chiefs whom we had sent on before us from Nelson's camp. 
At muster, in the evening, four men were absent. One of 
these, Kehani, has my bag with all the clothes I possess — also 

my sword. 

" When evils come, they come not single sj ies, 
But in battalions." 

Oct. 12. — We camped last night on the river bank. Jephson 
was sent back to the boat, to make some repairs, and bring her 
on through the rapids. He brought ten men to carry up loads, 
and so lighten the boat. A shauri was then held, in which all 
the members of the Expedition who were present took part — 
both black and white. 



120 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

We left camp at 10.30 a.m. I was in charge of the rear guard, 
and had great difficulty in starting the men with the loads, as 
they slipped away in all directions, looking for any substitute 
for food, and picking up any fungus or fruit that might present 
itself. At last, we did manage to start ; and did not halt for 
the night till late in the afternoon. We then camped opposite 
an uninhabited island. Some of our men attempted to swim 
across ; and Asmani, of Company No. 1, a very fine fellow, was 
drowned in the attempt to secure a canoe. 

As night closed in, there was no sign of Jephson, boat, or 
boxes. 

Oct. 13. — We waited all day for Jephson, who did not arrive 
until late in the evening, and without the boat. He atoned, 
however, for the delay and ranxiety by bringing us some Indiau 
corn, which was certainly the means of saving our lives, as it 
furnished material for a few tolerable meals. They had found 
two rattan-cane basketsful on an island ; one of these had 
been distributed to the boat's crew ; the second was preserved 
for the whites (Mr. Stanley, Jephson, Stairs, myself and 
William). The boat had had great difficulty in getting up 
river through the cataracts. Stairs went for a shot at elephants, 
but got nothing. Mr. Stanley spent the day looking out 
for the Advance. I remained in camp, preparing a dinner — 
of forest fruits, fungi, forest beans, and the leaves and green 
tops of the pepper plant. Feruzi Ali is in great danger ; the 
symptoms of compression of the brain have fully developed, 
and in an extreme degree. He is quite unconscious, with ster- 
torous breathing, pupils unequal and unaffected by light, slight 
ptosis, and facial paralysis. I am greatly distressed about him, 
as he was one of the most faithful men I had, and my greatest 
friend amongst the Zanzibaris. If he only had two forest 
fruits he would give me one. I miss my clothes very much. 
I am now left with two pairs of stockings, and two pairs of old 
boots. One pair has a peculiar history, as they belonged to a 
private who served in the Camel Corps for Gordon's relief, and 
whose leg I amputated after the reconnoissance on Metammeh, 
21st January, 1885. As I was then badly off for boots, I ap- 
propriated this pair of ammunitions, as they were of no further 
use to the soldier, and were extremely useful for the return 
march of 157 miles across the Bayuda Desert to the Camp, at 
Korti. One ragged pair of knickerbockers, two shirts, one 



1887.] FROM UGARROWWA'S TO IPO TO. 121 

blanket, and a waterproof sheet — all the rest are gone, and 
there is no fig-tree in the land ! As I pass deeper into the 
primeval forest, I approach the Adamite state of existence 
more closely ; I only want the innocence, and the happy garden 
stocked with all good things. 

Oct. 14. — The boat arrived early. Jephson had left it last 
evening a few hundred yards down river, as it was too dark to 
risk piloting in through these troubled waters. Feruzi Ali 
suffers from increasing coma, and other symptoms of compres- 
sion of the brain, the result of the blow received from the knife 
of the native. The case calls for immediate operation; 
but I have no trephining instruments ; and, if I use a mallet 
and chisel with unfavourable results, his death will be laid 
at my door by the men. He cannot last long if the pressure 
is not relieved. 

Jephson's Indian corn is keeping us on our legs to-day. We 
♦crossed the river to the opposite bank ; it is about 100 yards 
wide here. We blazed the trees, and put on broad arrows and 
finger-posts, so as to show the chiefs and others where we had 
crossed. We also inscribed on the trees the fact that the 
Relief Expedition has crossed at that point — for information 
of rear column. 

All the men are in a fainting condition for want of food. 
We are certainly passing through an ordeal of terrible tribula- 
tion. I wonder how is it going to end ; we cannot exist long 
on these terms. 

Oct. 15. — A very long shauri took place to-day, and every 
one had an opportunity of airing his opinions, on the desira- 
bility of going ahead or returning. Sinking the boat, burying 
the boxes, &c, were among the suggestions made. Finally, 
the talking ceased, as there was no time to be lost in debate, 
and we did make a forward start along the river bank. We 
soon got up a rather steep hill, reaching a table-land above, 
where we had better marching ground. Mr. Stanley was in 
front, and steered (by magnetic compass) N.N.E. 

After some hours, we met the party which had been sent out 
yesterday with Mbaruku, " the kilongosi, " or guide. We 
gladly pushed on with them, and followed a track ; hoping 
soon to find the camp of the Arab ivory hunters, and procure 
some food. 
, Mr. Stanley had a shot at an elephant ; some of our men 



122 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

climbed the trees to get mabunga, a fruit which grows on the- 
india-rubber vine. One of them fell from a branch, on top 
of some comrades, who were waiting below with their mouths 
open; and three were disabled as the net result of the opera- 
tion. This accident taxed our resources for the conveyance 
of our loads, as every capable man had a load given him in the 
morning. 

We are all exhausted now, and our men are in a desperate 
way. Mr. Stanley shot his donkey, and gave a 1 lb. ration of 
flesh to each man. Marazuki, our old cook, stole the kidneys 
while carrying the meat to my tent for safety. The men were 
ravenous, and struggled like pariah dogs for the blood, hide,, 
and hoofs. The tongue is, undoubtedly, the best part — if well 
braized. It is pitiful and painful, to the last degree, to see 
all the other appetites and passions completely merged in the- 
overwhelining one of hunger. Hardly a trace of any other 
idea seemed to exist in the minds of our starving men to- 
day, than that of the mechanical introduction of food into- 
the stomach. Poor creatures ! they have really borne their 
privations with wonderful patience. I often wonder they 
have not done something desperate. 

Oct. 16. — We ate most of our donkey meat, and marched 
early ; but there were not enough men to carry the loads, as- 
the poor creatures were dying along the road, and we had to 
leave them, taking their rifles with us. Forest fruits are but 
poor feeding at best ; we now make a sort of porridge from 
the scrapings of the beans. Our philanthropic pilgrimage for 
the relief of Emin Pasha is certainly being carried out with 
many of the outward and visible signs of an inward and 
spiritual self-denial, which cannot, I venture to think, be very 
far surpassed in history. I wonder whether the Crusaders of 
old had so rough a time of it ? 

Oct. 17. — We started very early. Had very great trouble 
in getting the men off, as the depressed creatures could 
muster up no energy, and they lagged behind very much. 
Stairs, Jephson, and myself were practically doing rear guard, 
which means raising boxes on men's heads, waiting for men to 
come from the bush to take up their loads, and taking precau- 
tions that when a man was left behind on the road from 
inability to march further, his rifle and load were carried to* 
camp. 



1887.] FROM UGARROWWA'S TO IPO TO. 123 

At about 9 a.m. the column passed close to a nest of 
hornets, the inhabitants of which stung our poor naked carriers 
so viciously that there was a regular stampede of howling 
wretches into the bush. Loads, rifles, &c, were thrown away, 
as they tried to escape from the venomous pests ; and, of 
course, great confusion prevailed for some time. We were 
obliged to wait quietly for about three hours, till the hornets 
had thought proper to retire ; we then were able to recover 
the loads. About 4 p.m. there was a very heavy fall of rain. 
This caused another serious block, as the wretched men made 
off for shelter into the holes in the trunks of decayed trees. 

We did not reach camp until late. Jephson has high fever. 
Owing to the wet we were unable to light fires to cook our 
beans. We are now able to make ourselves understood in 
Kiswahili ; but we never have had time to read Bishop Steer's- 
grammar and exercises on the language. 

Oct. 18. — I spent a wretched night, as some of my corn had 
been stolen, and I remained awake in my anxiety to find the 
thief. I knew I should certainly hear it crackling while being 
toasted (or "popped") on the fire. This I accordingly did 
hear, in the early morning ; and, making for the fire with 
greedy haste, I discovered that the culprit was my own boy. 
What a powerful motor in human action is the instinct of self- 
preservation ! I gave my faithful Achates " twenty-four " for 
this work of supererogation. Alas, we are obliged to " do 
sentry " over our own food in these days of tribulation ! We 
ate quantities of " forced march tabloids," but derived no 
benefit therefrom. We still have a little stock of brandy, 
which we gradually help ourselves to during these days, and 
it certainly has proved beneficial. 

One hour after starting on the march, we heard reports of 
guns in the distance, ahead of us. These we gladly answered. 
We felt certain now that the Arabs were near, and, with newly 
inspired vigour, we pushed on to the brow of the hill, at which 
we came upon a very large clearing, every inch of which was 
planted with Indian corn and rice, and at the opposite border 
of which we sighted the longed-for Arab village — about half a 
mile off. As we advanced, we saw the Arab sentries — posted 
at intervals to prevent our men from helping themselves. 

On arriving at the village, we found that it consisted of 
about 150 huts, of quadrangular outline, and roofs of consider- 



124: EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

able slope. The inhabitants amount to about 500. We were 
well received by the chiefs, who are three in number, Ismailia, 
Khamisi, and Sangarameni. They are all Muniapara (head 
men) to Abed Bin Salim. They presented us with three 
goats; also gave twenty-seven heads of corn to each white 
man, and four to each of the others. Mr. Stanley and his 
officers got huts to live in. The people are all Manyuema, 
with the exception of a few native captives. The name of 
the place is Ipoto. 



( 125 ) 



CHAPTEE VII. 

EXPEEIENCES WITH THE MANYUEMA AT IPOTO. 

We purchase food from the Arabs — Our men tormented by ticks — Vermin iir 
the village huts — Punishment of Zanzibaris for stealing and breach of 
discipline — Uledi arrives with the Advance — Mr. Stanley makes arrange- 
ments for Captain Nelson's relief — Our future plans — The ivory hunters 
— Jephson and carriers start for Nelson's camp, while Stanley continues 
the march to Lake Albert — I am left at Ipoto with twenty-eight 
starved Zanzibaris — Letter regarding some deserters — My orders from 
Mr. Stanley — A welcome goat — Covetousness of the Manyuema — My 
occupation of repairing rifles — Jephson and Nelson arrive in camp — 
Nelson a living skeleton — We fail to obtain food from the wretched 
Arabs — Jephson decides to follow after Stanley — I write a letter to our 
leader explaining my position at Ipoto — Attempts to steal our goods — - 
My hnt is fired by the Arabs — Ismailia's pretended innocence about the 
fire — Further desertions and losses of rifles — Eeturn of Chief Sangarameni 
from a raiding excursion — Our various methods of obtaining food — - 
Visit to Sangarameni — Mohammedan customs — Chief Khamisi returns 
from a raiding expedition — We pay an official visit to the chiefs ; Mr. 
Stanley's agreement with them regarding food not carried out — Ivory 
and slave trade in Africa — Pest of disagreeable insects — Illness of Chief 
Khamisi — Starvation among our men — We are refused ground for planting 
corn and beans — Chief Ismailia returns with his banditti — My field 
glasses are exchanged for food — Attempted theft of a box of ammunition 
— The chiefs still starve us — Nelson's shocking condition — Ismailia 
accepts my suggestion that we should all be " friends." 

Oct. 19. — Yesterday we had a good rest after arriving here, 
and treated our poor empty stomachs to such overpowering- 
meals of Indian corn and goats' flesh that they soon were 
disposed to rebel. We purchased fowls and beans for some of 
the little commodities of our stores, such as needles, cam- 
phorated chalk, &c, &c. After a huge meal of beans one felt 
like a balloon ; the distension was indescribable, and forcibly 
recalled Mark Twain's condition, when he felt that he could 
use no garment but his umbrella. 

The Arabs gladly brought quantities of corn, &c, to be 
exchanged for clothes ; but as I possessed none of the latter 
commodity, I was obliged to sponge on the others. In the 



12G EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

evening Mr. Stanley told Jepkson that he was to go back for 
Nelson and the eighty-one loads, and bring them up to us. 
The boat is then to be taken in pieces, and left here with 
the loads ; Nelson and Jephson are also to stay here while we 
go on to Emm. 

Our leader had a long talk with us last evening on the 
subject of our tribulations of the last three weeks. 

Oct. 20. — To-day the men of our Expedition had four heads 
of corn served out to each. We whites got twelve each. The 
Arabs keep a close watch on the corn, and, as the Zanzibaris 
are great thieves, a row may arise at any moment. 

After getting out of bed this morning, the first case I saw 
was Mufti Mzinga, with a spear wound in his back, three 
inches in length and penetrating into the substance of the 
lung; many other wounds, less severe in their nature, had 
also been inflicted by the merciless Manyuema. We did 
nothing all day but rest and eat. 

The men are greatly tormented by ticks, which stick in the 
nostrils, and hold on to the mucous membrane with great 
tenacity. This morning I found one in my own nostril; it 
was just like a sheep-tick in outline. These nasty things 
cause very great annoyance. There are also minute crab-like 
ticks which bury themselves in the skin. 

The huts are crawling with body vermin. The rats are in 
corresponding abundance; they run over us at night in the 
most familiar and playful fashion. Vermin of all kinds, laro-e 
and small, appear to multiply with the greatest rapidity here. 
Historians are, if I rightly remember, pretty well agreed that 
Sylla was one of the most fortunate, and, accordingly, one of 
the most enviable, of human beings ; but if the concluding part 
of their narrative be true — that he died a victim of morbus 
pediculosus—l, for my part, will never again feel disposed to 
complain, because he received more than his share of sublunar 
prosperity. 

Oct. 21.— This is the morning on which Jephson was to have 
returned with food for Nelson and the members of his invalid 
camp. It was found necessary, however, to hold a prolonged 
shauri before taking any further steps. All the men were fallen 
into their places, and many were tied up for important breach of 
discipline, especially selling or losing their rifles ; others were 
reprimanded for minor offences. These legislative procedures 



1887.] EXPERIENCES WITH THE MANYUEMA AT IPOTO. 127 

kept us so busy (for the wreck of the Expedition was imminent 
•owing to the autocratic attitude of the Manyuema chiefs, and 
the helpless condition of our men who surrendered and 
plundered everything for food) that no relief party could be 
sent. Later on in the day, one of our cooks was hanged for 
selling his rifle, so I was obliged to cook the dinner, as I am 
.mess-president for this month. I gave them beans, which I 
iind very filling at the price. 

Mr. Stanley always has his meals separately, and we will 
adopt this plan in future, as it is much the best. A Zanzibari 
•chief was brought up for condign punishment, and a knife 
was ostentatiously sharpened to terrify him to reveal his 
accomplices, when, to our surprise, he converted the apparently 
solemn scene into a farce, by falling fast asleep in presence of 
.all. Even if punishment had been seriously intended, it 
would have been rather hard to carry it out under these 
•circumstances 

Oct. 22. — No chance of a relief party going to Nelson, as we 
are so completely in the hands of those relentless Manyuema. 
We feel very much for the poor fellow in his dreadful position ; 
our own more immediate wants having now been relieved. 
Many men were punished for stealing, and other crimes, and 
breaches of discipline. Kashicl, and the four Muniapara, 
arrived to-day, looking like skeletons ; they had travelled for 
xaany miles along the river, but had seen no food, and had 
almost perished. Uledi and some of the boatmen also came 
into camp, having followed up the river (from the crossing) in 
the Advance; they report the existence of a large cataract 
higher up on the river. I sold my scarlet mess-jacket and 
waistcoat which I brought to wear on state occasions — value 
(originally) about £7 — for fifty-six heads of Indian corn, and 
a chicken, with a little honey. Accordingly I have now no 
•clothes left but what I stand in. Stairs and Jephson have 
still some things left to sell. We had the last of our goat- 
flesh at luncheon : then used my chicken and one of Jephson 's 
for dinner. The only food we have left from the Expedition 
store is tea. 

Oct. 23. — Mr. Stanley was not well yesterday, nor to-day. 
The floor of his hut was quite damp and soft ; so I recommended 
him to leave it, and live under his tent. He consented ; so 
.his tent was pitched, and he moved in. He told me that he 



128 EXPEBIENCEB IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

had arranged with the Arabs to have an Expedition sent back 
for the relief of Nelson ; and to bring him, with his men and 
boxes, up to the camp. I asked him for food, as we have had 
but 117 heads of Indian corn amongst three of us since the- 
18th inst., together with a chicken or two. He asked me in 
return if I had nothing to sell for food : this sank my spirits- 
a little, as we were, according to our contract, to have our food 
provided by the Expedition. But there is, I fear, no appeal 
from the pressure of circumstances ; our leader is obliged to 
yield to them as well as the rest of us, and there does not 
appear to be much to hope for from the generosity of our 
newly-made Manyuema acquaintances. 

Oct. 24. — Nothing particular was done during the day. In 
the evening, Mr. Stanley called the three of us white officers- 
into his tent, and said that I am to remain here to look after 
Nelson, with the men and baggage ; and that Jephson, on his 
return from the relief of Nelson, should follow him with all 
available men. I asked him when I should be relieved. He 
said three months hence ; that I should be brought away 
with Nelson. Practically, we will both be prisoners here, until 
redeemed by payment of cloth which is to be brought on by 
the rear column, and now due for corn, &c, which the men 
have had. According to my calculation, this payment will 
be in nine months at the earliest. I asked to get the chiefs to 
agree, if possible, in writing, that we should be fed. He- 
replied that he had done so, and made arrangements to this 
purpose, but that we should probably get little or no meat.. 
So that we have no prospect before us here but an indefinite 
period of vegetarian existence, and that limited by any terms 
which our Manyuema patrons may choose to impose. 

Oct. 25. — These Manyuema ivory hunters are of the very 
lowest class ; they are slaves to slaves of the Arabs, and live- 
like pigs. Everywhere, all around the village, the ground is 
covered with filth. Men and women squat down together- 
— within a few yards of their dwellings. 

Mr. Stanley has made the written agreement between him- 
self and these people, that ourselves and our men shall be- 
provisioned during our stay ; but I feel that we are simply 
hostages to these barbarians until the cloth arrives with the 
rear column to pay, and I think it more than likely that I 
will be alone, as Nelson may have died or gone clown river., 



1887.] EXPERIENCES WITH THE MANYUEMA AT IPO TO. 129 

in a canoe, as there was no food where he was left. The out- 
look for rne is, assuredly, not a very bright one ! 

Oct. 26. — Owing to a breach of promise, the Manyuema 
could only supply thirty carriers to return with Jephson for 
the loads at Nelson's camp. Accordingly, Mr. Stanley was 
obliged to send back forty Zanzibaris, each of whom is to 
receive a gratuity. Jephson left with the party about mid-day. 
I accompanied him for about two-and-a-half miles, and then 
(returned to the village. 

Oct. 27. — Mr. Stanley marched away this morning with 
147 men ; almost all of these were loaded. They were very 
freluctant about going to face the forest again, although they 
have had very little food since our arrival here on the 18th 
inst., and had little to start with. Even Stanley and Stairs did 
not have many heads of corn to start on, although they will be 
at least seven or eight days in the forest without food, except 
•chance food or fungi. Stairs, however, by selling his clothes, 
provided himself with a few chickens and some corn. Mr. 
Stanley has provided himself and the men with some neces- 
saries, by selling his revolver cartridges. 

I am now left here with twenty-nine starved Zanzibaris — 
•one or two only are really sick— till I am ransomed by the 
-arrival of cloth to pay for the food that the column has used. 
I have in my charge the boat, the rifles, boxes of ammunition, 
and other loads. Last night, in his tent, Mr. Stanley in my 
presence, gave Ismailia a gold watch and chain, as a pledge 
for the payment of some guides whom he was taking with him 
for a few days. [This watch (with chain) was redeemed eight 
months afterwards — when surrendering it, the chief declared 
that it had died — and kindly presented to me by Mr. Stanley, 
•on our return to England, with the following inscription : 
4i To Surgeon T. H. Parke, as a souvenir of Fort Boclo and 
Ipoto, 1887 and 1888, from his friend Henry M. Stanley.''] 

Oct. 28. — A dismal prospect this morning. Here I am all 
alone at the mercy of these savages ; my twenty-nine men lyino- 
all about everywhere — bags of bones as they all are ! They 
are the most sickening sights I have ever seen ; poor creatures 
hardly able to crawl. Our leader certainly seems rather hard ; 
still, I must confess that I do not see how else he could have 
dealt with these barbarous people — how he has made two ends 
meet is a mystery. He is different from any other man. 

K 



130 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887.. 

There is no change in his expression or behaviour ; he will 
never be found to sacrifice all in attempting to save one.. 
His policy rather is to sacrifice one and save the remainder. 

Last evening, Muni Pembi came back — with a letter from 
Stairs, asking me to send him on three blocks for the Remington 
rifles, which I did. This morning, I received the following : — 

" My dear Doctor, 

"I shall not be happy until I am well clear of these Manyuema. 
Hateb Wadi Balyuzi escaped yesterday into the bush with a box of ammuni- 
tion. Saadi deserted also, but left his box. Both men have taken their 
rifles. Go to my friend Bwana Ismailia; urge him strongly to catch them 
both, and sive them to Massoudi and his men. If you cannot catch them in 
time for Massoudi, keep them until Jephson comes. Hand them over to him 
with a strong caution that Saadi has escaped twice now from his captors. 
Give Massoudi a box of Kemingtons to bring to me if Hateb Wadi Balyuzi^s- 
box does not turn up. 

" Good bye, dear Doctor, 

" Yours faithfully, 

" H. M. Stanley. \ 
" Dr. Parke, 

" Oct 27th:' 

Immediately, on receipt of this letter, I asked the chiefs 
Khamisi and Ismailia, to send out a party and find the 
deserters. They did so ; but the search was fruitless. Khami& 
Pari returned (sick) with a letter from Stairs. He will pro- 
ceed with Jephson. Poor Uledi had all his clothes stolen last 
night, barring a square foot of bark cloth. Fortunately, he 
still has his rifle. I have received but nine heads of corn as- 
yet. Before Mr. Stanley left he gave me the following- 
orders : — 

" Arab village, Oct. 2tth, 1887. 
" My dear Doctor Parke, 

" I am so reduced in numbers now, that I have not men sufficient to- 
carry what is indispensable I should do to appear before Emin Pasha with 
any appearance of success. This morning it came near being a question 
whether I could take one officer with me, for the volunteers number only 
103. Fortunately, the Arabs here were persuaded to use forceful words and 
menaces to the lazy loons who prefer living on two ears of corn daily than 
walk for wages with me to the lake, which gave me 43 indifferent men more~ 
Therefore, I see my way to take Lieut. Stairs along, also Mr. Jephson, on 
condition they reduce their baggage. They have two boys each, and each 
boy is capable on emergency, which may come yet, to carry a load. The two 
officers must have one small medicine chest, which I trust you will pack up 
with what is requisite, say for three months. They must have 25 lbs. of 
bedding, and 25 lbs. weight of clothing each, and one box of European provi- 
sions between them. There are four loads already. I take the large tent 
with me, which will house us all. It makes seven loads. Were I alone, I 
should take a small tent (three loads), find leave the large tent behind. This- 



1887.] EXPERIENCES WITH THE MANYUEMA AT IPOTO. lol 

gives me eight loads to carry for the sake of the two officers. I have been in 
the habit of taking 20 per cent, of the entire force as supernumerary. 1 now 
take 50 per cent, to save loss of goods on the road. The condition of the people 
compels this as I have only 111 carriers. I dare take only 72 loads, 40 of 
which must be Remingtons. Kow if you compute tent, Winchesters, brass 
rods, medicine chests, chronometers, instruments, officers' baggage, &c, you 
will see how hard driven we are. 

" We have a great number of people yet, but they are scattered along the 
long track. Total No. 546. Therefore, it is necessary that you should stay 
at this place, and look after the sick and assist Capt. Nelson in keeping on 
friendly terms our men and the Arab men. You should keep all rifles and 
baggage under your own roof. You must beware of fire, and to keep it at a 
xafe distance from you (on account of the ammunition), I would advise- 
setting up a tent, at least 20 yards from the nearest house, build a fence all 
round it, say 15 feet away, in which store rifles and ammunition nicely. 
The ammunition boxes should be so laid as to make a comfortable bedstead,. 
but wood should be evenly laid under the boxes, so as to preserve them from', 
rot. One officer should sleep in tent. It may be I shall send a caravan for 
your goods if I can have aid of any carriers from Emin Pasha. If so, then 
one of you two officers should accompany the column. If I brin-.j the- 
caravan, both of you may be able to go and stay with Emin Pasha. But by 
letter or personally, I can explain this better later. The boat, 1 am sorry 
to say, must be left here. Please have the sections carefully stored in the 
court around the tent, so bolts may not be stolen. The rubber should be 
boxed or put in the hut under shade. This is all I can think of at present,, 
except about the medicine. A lew bandages should be sent with the officers 
— quinine, Dover's powder, tablets of lead and opium, and such things made 
into a light compact load ; and, I might mention a tooth extractor, some 
needles and thread for sewing wounds. Good-bye, take care of yourself, and 
Xelson, and our sick people. Keep by all means on good terms with, the 
Arabs, and it is most likely that we may all meet within a few months- 



"Hexey M. Staklesl 

" To Doctok Taeke, &c." 

Oct. 29. — The Manyuema men from the Lencla left here 
to-day, which is a curious coincidence in connection with the 
directions. I overhauled the forty-seven rifles left with me 
here, and found but twelve in good order ; the remainder are 
unserviceable, but, as I have the blocks, I can mend some of 
them. I sent Uledi to cut a track to carry the boat up from, 
the river. I got a goat by a lucky mistake ; a boy came and. 
cut its throat opposite my door, which is, I believe, the 
custom. I thought it was intended as a present, and thanked, 
the boy, who, immediately went off and told the chief (Khamisi)-. 
that I had taken his goat. However, the chief arranged it, as- 
I had nothing to purchase it with. I afterwards found out 
that it was really a diseased goat which had been dying, and 
they wanted to get something out of me for it. Uledi has got 
leave from me to go off for two days, in search of food, with one 

k 2 



132 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

of the IManyuema chiefs (Khamisi). They are proceeding 
towards the Ituri. I gave soup, made from the flesh of the 
•above-mentioned goat, to all the sick men, and also a share to 
many of the healthy. These Hanyuema are most objectionable 
neighbours ; they covet everything they see. They supply no 
food, and are disgustingly filthy in their habits. 

Oct. 30. — I am my own butcher, as my boys are all sick ; 
•so I skinned the goat, and sun-dried some strips of meat, which 
will come in useful bye-and-bye. The chiefs pay me a visit 
every morning, and want me to give them everything they see. 
'Covetousness and procrastination seem to be their great 
•characteristics. 

Oct. 31. — This morning, after some persuasion, I got 
Ismailia to come round and agree to give me a better hut ; 
•also a site for the tent in which. I am to stow the ammunition 
for fear of fire. Every hut I fancied was not theirs ! However, 
there is one which belongs to Khamisi, who is away, and which 
I hope I shall get. The chiefs say that they feed us all, that 
they get nothing in return, and that now I want a hut ; so I 
see a storm brewing. I am in an exceedingly awkward position, 
as I do not speak their language, and they do not speak mine. 

Nov. 1. — I was called away yesterday, to see a child which 
bad fallen from a tree, broken its arm, and sustained other 
severe injuries. I said it would die ; it fulfilled my prognosis, 
for it was dead at 5 P.M. On the way to see it a much more 
serious accident occurred to myself ; I tore my only pyjamas. 
Now I am left with one old ragged pair of knickerbockers, 
which I wore up the Nile, and across the Bayuda Desert ! 

I noticed this morning that one of the Manyuema men wore 
one of Emin Pasha's coats with. Egyptian buttons (crescent 
and star). I asked him where he had got it, and he replied 
from one of the Nubians, evidently stolen from one of Emin's 
bales which we are carrying. 

I have now repaired nearly all the rifles with my own 
bands. I feel that I am becoming quite a skilled mechanic, 
and the occupation has the personal advantage to me of 
keeping me from brooding over present ills. 

Nov. 2. — Three Manyuema men, of Jephson's party, arrived 
last night in the camp ; and brought the welcome news that 
Nelson was alive ; but of the fifty-two living skeletons left 
with him, but five now remain, and two of these were in 



1887.] EXPERIENCES WITH THE MANYUEMA AT IPO TO. 133 

such an utterly hopeless state that they were left behind. 
These men had left their loads at the river, three-and-a-half 
hours off; they were too tired to bring them up to the camp. 
3Iany more men arrived to-day, including some of our own 
men, who report Nelson alive and a skeleton ; that many of 
his men deserted, but his three boys and one man have clung 
to him throughout. Poor fellow, he stuck well to his post ! 

I have finished what provisions I had, and sent for more ; 
but the chief would not give me more than one head of Indian 
corn for dinner. Later on, Ismailia sent me a cupful of sour 
Indian meal. Ismailia handed over to me all the loads carried 
by his men from Nelson's place ; these are twenty-four in 
number. 

Nov. 3. — Jephson arrived this morning ; also a number of 
men with their loads, but he was without his best chief,. 
Eagib, who got lost in the forest looking for fungi. Nelson 
followed on foot. Jephson describes Nelson's camp as strewn 
with dead men. Thirty of the number left had deserted 
and gone down river ; and nothing was left to break the 
melancholy stillness of the p]ace but the feeble groans of 
three dying men. One man was found sitting at a fire, 
and two boys sat close by Nelson. Everything was sad and 
silent. The Indian corn, rice, and fowls which Mr. Stanley 
had sent to Nelson were cooked without delay, and the loads 
prepared for the return journey on next morning. 

Poor fellow ! he arrived here this evening about 3 P.M. : a 
living skeleton, with hollow cheeks, sunken eyes, and bearing* 
every trait of the extremest physical depression. I felt 
choking with emotion to see him in this state — a photographic 
record of the horrors which he has outlived. I handed him a 
chair to sit down, and disappeared behind the hut to clear the 
gathering mist from my eyes. I wish my prospects of making 
him and myself comfortable here were a little more encourag- 
ing than they are ; he and I are now at the mercy of a gang 
of the cannibal-slaves of slaves of Arab traders, who will utilize 
their opportunities of putting on every pressure they can bring 
to bear, to force us to part with our firearms and ammunition 
to them, and perhaps kill and eat us in the end — if we have 
any flesh left worth eating. 

As the Zanzibaris came in I took each man's rifle from him, 
so that he could not sell it. 



134 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

In the evening we celebrated the occasion by a banquet, 
which consisted of three fowls. Unfortunately, we cannot look 
forward to many such in our present position. 

Nov. 5. — Jephson separated the sections of the boat ; he 
could not, however, get the men to follow him and bring up 
the pieces to the village. On the path to the Ituri he found 
the deserter, Hateb Wadi Balyuzi in a dying state. He took 
his rifle, but could not find his load anywhere. 

We cannot get anything to eat from these wretched Arabs. 
I fell in most of the men who are now with us, and selected 
those who were able to walk, to go on with Jephson, as it is 
certain death for them to remain here. They would be starved, 
or, perhaps, eaten by these savages. 

They then started, and went to where the boat was at the 
river. The sections were hauled up for some distance on the 
bank, and carefully secured away from the water. The oars, 
bolts, india-rubber, and other appendages, were then brought 
up to my hut. 

My donkey was severely wounded last night by a barbed 
arrow which penetrated the flesh to a depth of several inches ; 
I was obliged to cut it out, with the surrounding flesh in which 
it was entangled. 

Nov. 6. — We held another shauri about the possibility of 
finding food. We are receiving none from these people. The 
chief, Ismailia, says that he is feeding Nelson and myself at 
his own expense, and that Mr. Stanley had made no arrange- 
ments for us. He refuses to give anything to our servants ; 
and will not give us a good hut to live in. Jephson is 
making arrangements to start in the morning. He has given 
me the following letter. 

" Dear Jephson, 

" Say to Parke that it would be advisable to take the main springs 
out of every rifle, and conceal the springs very carefully among his own 
persoijal effects, so that if any unpleasantness occurred the rifles could not be 
used against us, and the ammunition would not be so valuable to them. But 
it should be done secretly. 

" Stanley.*' 

Nov. 7. — Jephson left this morning with forty-eight men ; 
leaving with me the twenty-four sick, and our three boys 
The men were brought off much more easily than we had 
anticipated. He went ahead, and I urged on the rear, till they 
had got clear of the camp. Seven of my former twenty-nine 



X887.] EXPERIENCES WITH THE MANYUEMA AT IPO TO. 135 

invalids, who had gained strength by the rest obtained here, 
were among the number who marched, with him. I also wrote 
to Mr. Stanley,* telling him how difficult it Avas for Nelson and 
myself to get food from the Manyuema, and asking him to 
accede to Nelson's request — to send us authority to expend 
up to two bales of cloth, for which we would pay £50 — this 
would enable us to provide for ourselves and our boys. I 
knew that Mr. Stanley had no cloth with him ; but if he would 
promise to give us the bales when brought up by the rear 
column, the chiefs would take our written agreement. I also 
pointed out — what was indeed, but too evident — that Nelson 
required nourishing food after his long term of starvation. 
I sent a full list of all the rifles and impedimenta which 
remain here ; these amount to 11G loads, including the boat 
sections, which are at the river side, as I am unable to have 
them carried up to camp. 

I walked around with the chief to-day, who offered us 
another hut, which we agreed to take when cleaned out. 
Nelson bought a chicken, which gave us a dinner. We can 
never leave our things, so that but one of us can go away at a 
time ; for these Manyuema are evidently bent on relieving us 
of some of the rifles, &c, &c. We are constantly being asked 
to go and shoot an elephant in the plantation; and other 
various little dodges are tried to decoy us away from our 
things. Several small articles have already been stolen by 
these detestable men : they put their arms through the bars of 
the back door of the hut, and abstract what they can reach. 

Nov. 8. — Last night, there was a deliberate attempt made 

to burn down our hut, in which was stored all our arms and 

ammunition, &c. Fortunately, Nelson, who is always awake, 

saw the flames, and heard the crackling of the straw and 

wood as they burned. He jumped up at once and roused 

us. In an instant, ourselves and our boys were hard at 

work, endeavouring to combat the destruction Avhich 

threatened to overwhelm us. The scanty supply of water 

which was habitually kept here did not prove a very efficient 

remedy. After some time, having pulled down the gable-end 

of the hut, we managed to put out the fire. The hut had 

been fired in three different places on the straw roof ; fort u- 

.nately, but one place had blazed up ; otherwise the ammuni- 

* In Darkest Africa, vol. i. p. 264. 



136 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

tion and all the paraphernalia of onr part of the Expedition 
would have gone in the conflagration. We found the lighted 
torch, which had been used by the incendiary, and thrown away- 
after wards. 

When Ismailia came in the morning, we showed him where 
a considerable part of the hut was burnt down, and also pro- 
duced the torch which had been employed. He wore a face 
of extreme innocence, and looked as if lost in astonishment ; 
but there was no doubt in our minds that it was done by the 
Manyuema (and perhaps at his own instigation) for the pur- 
pose of seizing all our things during the ensuing confusion. 
He said that it was done by our own men, the Zanzibaris ; 
perhaps they assisted, for when we shouted for help to put 
out the fire not a man came, although they were within easy 
hearing distance. That it was a premeditated attack upon us- 
there can be no doubt whatever. 

When called by Nelson at the outbreak of the fire, and 
before I was thoroughly awake, my first impulse was to chuck 
my blanket into the bush, for if I had left it where I was 
lying, I would not have seen it again. When everything was 
re-arranged to-day, I had my tent pitched, and had all arms, 
boxes, &c, carried into it, and stored up there. I will, in future, 
sleep in the tent, and Nelson in the hut ; with our respective 
revolvers for sole company. 

My donkey was severely speared last night, as he stood just 
outside my tent. 

Nov. 9. — Some clays ago, Ismailia asked me to give him a 
box ; so I promised him that I would do what I con Id for him 
in that way. Accordingly, last night I sent him one of 
Fortnum, Mason & Co.'s (Piccadilly) provision boxes. He 
returned it, with an indignant message that it was not good 
enough. There was no appeal against this judgment, as the 
chiefs have a very effective way of asserting themselves, i.e., 
withholding our supply of food till they get what they want. 
Of course, then, I was obliged to give him a better one to- 
day ; so I emptied a medicine chest, and presented it to him. 
This pleased him because it was coloured, and had a lock and 
key. N.B. It means our very existence to keep on terms 
with these relentless ruffians. 

Alufan, one of our Zanzibaris, died of starvation to-day. 
Mr. Stanley has arranged that the healthy men — i.e., those who 







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1887.] EXPERIENCES WITH THE MAN YU EM A AT IPO TO. 137 

are capable of working — are to be fed ; but those who are sick 
are to get nothing whatever if they are unable to work. This 
is Ismailia's version. 

Last night, I almost caught a thief, who had two plates and 
a rifle half out of the door. I counted the rifles to-day, and 
find my number lessened by two : fifty-nine instead of sixty- 
one. 

Yesterday, a man named Hari, formerly of Nelson's com- 
pany, deserted from Jephson's party. We captured him on 
his return. He had no rifle with him. We intended sending 
him on with Uledi, who has not yet returned from foraging ; 
but he got clear of us this morning, and bolted. 

Nov. 10. — Last night when we were feeding in front of my 
tent — but ten yards from the latter — a thief stole a box of 
Remington ammunition from the inside ! We are obliged to 
sleep on top of our ammunition stores ; we cannot effectually 
guard them from the thieves otherwise. 

At 4 p.m. Uledi and six of the boat's crew returned, saying 
that they could find no food. We gave them twenty rounds 
of ammunition each, to protect themselves on their march after 
Jephson. I also utilised some loose rounds of ammunition 
left by Jephson, in purchasing a little Indian corn for them. 

Nov. 11. — Uledi left early this morning, with seven men and 
the deserter (Hari) who had surrendered. In the afternoon, 
Sangarameni returned from a raiding excursion, and brought 
with him plenty of chickens, with about a dozen tusks of ivory, 
weighing between sixty and seventy pounds each. Late in 
the day he paid us a visit, and gave us two fowls. This is the 
first present we have received from the chiefs ; Ave are now 
living on what we buy. Nelson has a little box of camphorated 
chalk, small quantities of which we deal out in exchange for 
food. Like all Arabs, these people are fond of powerful odours. 
Had it not been for this racial peculiarity we would have 
nothing to eat, excepting these two chickens, which will 
probably last us for some days. Sometimes I manage to get 
a head of corn, or a cup of beans, for medical attendance. If 
the urgency of the case (my prognosis depends on the stage 
of our hunger) demands such important remedies as inhalation 
of amnion, carb., an extra fee is expected. I do hope and pray 
that this ammonia of mine will keep up its strength ; it is one 
of the most important barriers between us and starvation. 



138 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

Nov. 12. — About luncheon time, we returned Sangaranieni's 
visit of yesterday. While with him he asked us to sit down 
and partake of the midday meal of curried chicken and rice. 
It was very good ; but as eight or ten savages were eating out 
of the same dish with their hands, the display was rather 
calculated to blunt the appetite a little. All the same, how- 
ever, we both ate freely ; for hunger is not over-nice, and 
serves to dissipate silly prejudices. 

Like all good Hohaniinedans, these people always wash their 
feet, hands, and mouths before eating a meal ; I wish the friction 
would remove some of their peculiar morality. 

" The prince of darkness is a gentleman ; Modo he's called, and Malm." 

I have read the opinion of some commentator who makes 
these names corruptions of " 3Iohammed " : if this piece of 
philology be accurate, I consider that the Shakespearian 
view of the " prophet " is very fairly represented by his 
followers here. 

Afterwards we went to meet Khamisi, the head chief, who w as 
xeturning from a raid in the southerly direction. He had 
collected a great number of chickens and goats, also ten tusks of 
ivory. Several shots were tired as a salute, to receive him when 
lie entered the village. After the usual exchange of salaams, 
lie presented us with two chickens. Experience has taught us 
that there is nothing like being conspicuously to the front 
with salaam-sauce when these foraging expeditions return. 
Shortly afterwards, some under-chiefs presented me with two 
chickens and some bananas. Unfortunately, however, a present, 
.as I have found elsewhere in Africa, always means something 
better in return. 

Xov. 13. — Xelson and I paid an official visit to the chiefs, 
for the purpose of endeavouring to arrange about the food 
•question for ourselves and our men in the future. The three 
•chiefs, Khamisi, Ismailia, and Sangarameni, with some smaller 
fry, were present at the interview. Khamisi, who had had 
the agreement locked up, now produced the document^ 
which was in Mr. Stanley's hand writing. There was also 
.a second, in Arabic characters, which appeared with the one 
in English. In the former we read a distinct clause that 
all the sick and the officers (Xelson and myself) who were left 
here were to be provisioned during the stay. The chiefs, when 



1887.] EXPERIENCES WITH THE MANYUEMA AT IPO TO. 139 

I read this, said that Stanley lied, as he had never mentioned 
to them that we officers were to be provisioned. I was present 
in Mr. Stanley's tent when Ismailia promised faithfully to feed 
ourselves and our men, according to Mr. Stanley's agreement. 
This is an example of their deceitful, unreliable, and cruel 
natures. He admitted, however, that Mr. Stanley had said 
that I would attend to their sick, and get provisions in lieu of 
my services ; and that Nelson was to have food in exchange for 
presents which he would make them. This is also false. He 
added that they had very little food now. We told them that 
we had written to Mr. Stanley to grant us a supply of cloth, and 
that we would give them twenty-nine rifles and twelve boxes 
of ammunition to keep, until redeemed by the cloth. To this 
they would not, of course, agree. Just before the shauri 
had commenced, Nelson had made a present of a gold chain 
(value £17) to .Khamisi, a pair of field-glasses (£9 9s.) to 
Sangarameni, and a sword (£7) to Ismailia. This offhand 
generosity was intended to soften their stony hearts, and appeal 
to their gratitude — if they had any. Those expensive seeds 
we soon found to have fallen on a very unproductive soil. 

Nov. 14. — Ismailia started this morning on a tour amongst 
the Washenzi. Each of the three chiefs had a third of the 
surrounding country allotted to him for his maraudings. They 
pillage the native villages in search of plunder, and take whole 
families as slaves. Indeed, ivory-trade and slave-trade are 
synonymous terms in Africa; for the captives are returned in 
exchange for ivory, only to be recaptured — to carry the same 
ivory to the coast. 

We purchased a little Indian corn to-day. 

Nov. 15. — This place is filled with lizards, lice, and all sorts 
of disagreeable insects. All kinds of pediculi abound, but espe- 
cially ikepediculus vestimenti (vel corporis). These pests multiply 
with the greatest rapidity, the ova being deposited on the 
fibres of the garments, and hatched in five days. We dread 
going to bed, as the first hour is always spent in scratching ; 
blood is always drawn here and there by this operation from 
the torn summits of small pimples. Every ulcer and excoria- 
tion, however small, when healed, leaves a darkened spot — ■ 
from excessive deposit of pigment. 

My donkey is also a martyr to the morbus joedicidosus. 
Khamisi is very poorly to-day. It looks like commencing 



140 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887, 

pneumonia. I pay hiin the most unwearying attention, and 
give him an occasional whiff from the mysterious ammon. carta 
bottle — a panacea for all diseases under the equatorial sun I 
I keep up this most important treatment in the anxious antici- 
pation of getting a chicken for my trouble. 

The chiefs and their satellites are continually paying us- 
visits, invariably coveting everything they see, and trying if 
they can by any possible means manage to appropriate it. 
They are the most shamelessly obstinate beggars I have ever 
met. 

Nov. 16. — Two Zanzibaris were brought up for stealing- 
corn. We were obliged to punish them, although they are- 
really driven to steal by these cruel Manyuema, who will not 
give them food. So the unhappy culprits were chastised by 
very sympathetic hands. 

My boy Muftah has not come to work to-day, on the pretence 
of being ill. In reality he wishes to leave me, and work for the 
Manyuema wretches ; as they give him food to entice him away 
from me, and I am only able to give him mloga (leaves of 
the pepper-plant, and the green tops of a peculiar plant not 
unlike a potato-stalk). This latter is very abundant here, 
and grows best on mounds of refuse and filth. These, when 
pounded up with a mushroom-like fungus, found about the 
roots of dead trees, make a tolerably palatable spinach. This 
elementary diet is what Nelson and myself mostly exist upon. 
Nelson's boys, " Osmani " and " Feragi," stick to him ; but one 
of them is an invalid and unable to do much. 

I shot a hawk this morning, which kept us going for the 
day. 

Nov. 17. — We have frequently asked the chiefs to give us 
some ground to prepare for planting corn and beans ; but they 
always put it off with some trivial excuse. I have tried over 
and over again to get a man to accompany me into the forest, 
to get a shot at a pig; and also to go with me to the river 
(which is three hours' distance), in order to see if the sections 
of the boat are all right and safe where they were left. I have, 
up to the present, been unable to get one from the chiefs ; who 
make themselves as disagreeable as possible. Their object in 
giving us little or no food is to starve us into parting with our 
rifles and ammunition; which we are determined not to do — at 
least, till all our own belongings go first, and all other possible 



1887.] EXPERIENCES WITH THE 3IAXYUEMA AT IPO TO. 141 

resources have failed ; for the ammunition is the most valuable 
thins: we have sot. 

Nov. 18. — Ismailia the chief has returned from an expedi- 
tion with his ruga-ruga (i.e. banditti). Also, another party 
which left on the 28th of October, has turned up. They have 
brought back with them a number of slaves, goats, fowls, ten 
tusks of ivory (and many small pieces of the same article) ; 
also ivory horns, drums, and various native ornaments. Their 
-approach was, as is the invariable custom on the return of a 
victorious plundering party, announced by a fusillade from the 
more responsible members of the community ; while the others 
fclow horns and make merry music, which answers in function 
to our " See, the conquering hero comes." If the ruga-ruga 
have not seized any ivory, there is no salute fired : a damping 
silence prevails throughout the party during the approach of 
the disappointed adventurers. 

This morning we received two cups of Indian corn flour from 
Sangarameni : a poor supply for four of us. So we exchanged 
a rifle for a goat. 

Xov. 19. — No food whatever could we extract from the chiefs 
to-day. In the evening I sold my field-glasses for 100 heads 
•of corn, to feed ourselves and our boys. I had previously taken 
the precaution of removing the two large lenses ; which may 
•come in useful in the lighting of a fire (or a pipe) when we get 
out of the forest, and have a chance of seeins; the sun. My 
-servant has now left me, as he can get more food from the 
3Lanyuema by working for them. I went for a shot, but got 
'.nothing. During my absence, however, Xelson was presented 
with one chicken and a little flour ; this is very good feeding 
■for to-day, but we never know where we shall get the next 
•meal. Khamisi, the head chief, has now recovered from his 
dllness ; I was unremitting in my attentions to him : yet for 
•all that he has not, up to the present, given any recognition 
of his appreciation. 

This morning we sent to the chiefs for some food. They 
sent back word that they would give none, and that thev 
would thrash the boy if he went down to them again. I have 
given up all hope of having my boy back again, as he has 
"been fairly seduced away by the chiefs. In the course of the 
•evening Sangarameni sent up a messenger to us, instructing 
us to send him down a present ! 



142 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

Nov. 21. — Last night and the previous one were both very 
wet. About ten minutes after the first premonitory signs there 
falls a perfect deluge of rain, accompanied by a tornado and 
immense sheets of lightning. About 3 a.m. yesterday morning 

•^ CD * J CD 

a thief entered my tent, while I was asleep, and took off a box 
of ammunition ; but on his way out he knocked over a tin 
box, which I had purposely placed at the doorway. On hearing* 
the noise, I immediately seized my revolver and rushed out r 
just in time to save the box of ammunition, which the burglar 
had dropped on the path. He escaped, as I could not see him 
in the dark. 

Nelson was very feverish last night. This morning his 
temperature was 103° F. I gave him some medicines ; but have 
nothing to give him to eat, except mhoga and popped corn 
(toasted). The chiefs, and many others, come to visit us : their 
real object in inflicting these attentions being to pry into our 
little surroundings, covet everything, and try to get all they 
can from us. They now come into our tents, and sit on our 
beds, leaving behind them legions of vermin as remem- 
brancers of their visits. Surely our social life here is not a 
happy one. 

Nov. 22. — We have now had no food whatever from the 
chiefs for the last three clays. AVe are living entirely on 
mboga ; in fact, we are grazing — living the life of Nebuchad- 
nezzar. I only hope it will not last for seven years, for I am 
tired of it already. We have of course finished (aided by our 
two bovs) the corn which I purchased for my field-glasses. 
Nelson got two cups of beans, for a pair of scissors ; this is- 
far below the market value. Osmani, who understands Arabic., 
says that he heard the chiefs tell the people to sell us little or 
nothing. The people certainly have ceased to come to sell us 
food as before. Nelson and I pitched the second tent this 
morning ; we were unable to get help from the chiefs. The 
coat had a baby to-day, but our visions of porridge and milk 
have been cut short by the chiefs, who would not give anv 
Indian meal. We sincerely hope that the donkey will keep- 
until after Christmas. 

Nelson is not improving ; he is a mass of ulcers, and has. 
to be suspended in a cord hammock during the greater part of 
the day, to relieve bed sores. He sometimes sleeps in the- 
open, in his hammock. I could not have believed that such a. 



1887.] EXPERIENCES WITH THE MANYUEMA AT IPO TO. 143: 

manly, well-built, athletic form could have been reduced to- 
such a sickly-looking, infirm, decrepit skeleton. 

Nov. 23. — I went for a shot, but got nothing. I then returned 
to a luncheon of bean soup. Nelson is an excellent cook ; he 
boils a cupful of beans in a great quantity of water, then 
bruises them in a hhino (a sort of wooden mortar), returns them 
to the water, and adds a few pepper pods. This is by no* 
means a bad meal, as things go, for ourselves and our boys. 

Very heavy rain fell to-day. Khamisi gave me a cup of 
beans for a little medicine case, suitable for holding needles.. 
I asked him why the chiefs wanted to starve us, and he replied 
that Mr. Stanley had told a lie — that we were not to be fed — 
also that Nelson had offended Ismailia, by telling him that 
he always wanted whatever he saw in our tents. (This candid 
remark was quite true, as Ismailia is a thoroughly avaricious 
cur.) I was in fear of absolute starvation ; so, pocketing my 
pride, I suggested that we should all be friends, to which 
praiseworthy sentiment Ismailia professed himself quite agree- 
able, and said that everything was "finished." After an 
interval of about fifteen minutes, Ismailia came up, shook 
hands, and said that all was friendly now. 

Nelson sold a very handsome scarlet waistcoat, for which he 
received seven cups of meal from Khamisi. We shall very soon, 
be reduced to bark-cloth and an ivory bangle. 



M-i EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IPOTO. 

"The Manyuema hear false news regarding three guides supplied to Mr. 
Stanley, whereby our lives are endangered — Letters to hand from Stanley 
and Jephson — Tactics of the chiefs — Troublesome vermin — My birthday 
^ — A substantial feast — "Wake "in memory of the three lost guides — 
Having no food, Nelson and I finish the remainder of the quinine and 
orange wine — Marked change in our appearance and general behaviour — 
Evening visits of the Manyuema to our tents- — We hold a shauri with 
the chiefs regarding food supply — Theft of blankets and sleeping things 
from our tents — Punishment of the Zanzibari thieves — We open Emm 
Pasha's bales, and exchange the soiled goods for food — My medical fees 
paid in small food supplies — Sudden generosity of the chiefs — Nelson 
very feverish — Forest game and Arab crops — My boy Sherif steals some 
cartridges — Construction of a new village by the chiefs — Description of 
the huts — I am laid up with erysipelas — Dreadful condition of Nelson — 
Loss of our milch goat — Nelson operates on me — An offer of goats in 
return for rifles declined by us— Preparing food for Christmas — Arrival 
-of Kilonga Longa's advance guard — My tent is besieged by an army of 
ants — Improvement in my condition — Dish made from pounded ants — 
Ismailia's philanthropic suggestion — Christmas Day spent in bed — Only 
eleven of our Zanzibaris alive — The comic side of our position — Khamisi 
comes to me to be doctored — Difficulty in milking our goat — Growth of 
our corn and beans — The chiefs still refuse us food — Kilonga Longa's 
arrival delayed. 

Nov. 24. — Last niglit was the most unpleasant we have 
^pent for some time. Late in the evening there was a great 
commotion in the village, and all the women set up a continuous 
howling (hi, lu). Presently one of our Zanzibari invalids 
(Muini) crawled up to us in the dark. This apparition 
whispered that we should sleep lightly, as he had overheard 
the Manyuema chiefs say that they would have their revenge 
on us, a report having reached them that Mr. Stanley had 
killed three of the guides whom he had brought with him, 
when leaving on the 27th ult. Knowing the barbarous ways 
of these people, and that under the circumstances, we were 
both perfectly certain of prolonged torture or being disposed 
of in some such horrible way, as their cry always is "Blood 
for blood!" — we made ourselves ready to die quickly rather 



1887.] FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IPO TO. 145 

than suffer a lingering demise at the pleasure of our hosts. 
Nelson armed himself with all the strychnine in the 
medicine case, and I with my revolver. We took our Win- 
chester repeaters, and retired into the bush, close to the 
tents ; each watching his own tent, and silently awaiting 
the next scene of the tragedy. After some hours, the howl- 
ing in the village ceased, and we returned from our places 
of concealment. We then immediately sent to Khamisi to 
inquire what was the matter. He sent back word that three of 
his men, whom he had sent as guides with Mr. Stanley, had 
been ill-treated by the W r ashenzi ; but that the first report 
was that Mr. Stanley had killed them. This account com- 
forted us, but we thought it advisable to remain on the alert 
all night. At 7 a.m. Ismailia and Sangarameni came to 
pay us a visit. They confirmed the report that the three 
guides had been killed by the Washenzi; as Mr. Stanley 
failed to make friends with the natives, who then shot arrows 
at them. The reports are conflicting and unreliable. The 
chief who accompanied Mr. Stanley arrives to-morrow, so that 
we hope to hear the truth. 

Nov. 25. — Ismailia sent us three cups of meal yesterday. 
We calculate that Mr. Stanley is by this time somewhere not 
far from the lake. The chief guide arrived last night ; and 
brought letters from Stanley and Jephson, dated 17th Novem- 
ber. They had reached a country with plenty of food, but had 
not yet heard of the grass lands. Mr. Stanley sent a promissory 
note for the two bales of cloth, and said that he did not see 
how we are to be relieved if the cloth never arrives ; recom- 
mending us to be patient, and put up with our trouble as best 
we could; for the Manyuema are wicked and desperate 
people. He added that we should take the main springs out 
of all the rifles, so that they could not be used against us. 

[In Jephson's letter to Nelson he mentioned that Mr. Stanley 
desired me to give up the valuable watch and chain to Ismailia. 
This I accordingly did. He frequently complained to me 
afterwards that the watch was " dead"] 

We interviewed the chiefs on the subject of sending for the 
boxes, which still remain buried at Nelson's starvation camp. 
We offered four yards of calico per load for their carriage to the 
village. They replied that they would hold a shauri among 
themselves on the matter. Later on the chiefs did return to 

L 



146 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

pay ns a visit ; they were all in excellent spirits, and, appa- 
rently, well disposed. Ismailia commenced by asking us to give 
him a rifle in exchange for a goat, and they all expressed their 
desire that we should sell them some of our cartridges. This 
indicates their tendency : they are running short of ammuni- 
tion, and they would on the least provocation murder us for 
the sake of the ammunition we have got with us. We are 
completely at their mercy, and their tactics in attempting to 
starve us by withholding food form a very excellent plan to 
drive us to sell our rifles and ammunition. 

There was great excitement in the village last night ; about 
100 shots were fired as a fantasia. Nelson and myself were 
fearfully itchy ; no peace for us after sunset, when the whole 
place seems to become a seething mass of vermin of all 
kinds. 

Nov. 26. — I have taken Sherif as a servant. I only hope 
that the Manyuema chiefs will not induce him to desert me as 
they did in the case of Muftah. 

Nov. 27. — The anniversary of my birthday ! Surroundings 
not so jubilant, perhaps, as one could wish, but I have been 
trying to make the best of it. Nelson gave one of his boxes 
in exchange for a goat, and Sangarameni actually went so far 
as to send me three cups of Indian meal; so that we are 
celebrating the occasion with a substantial feast ! 

The vermin must have made up their mind to have their 
turn first, for they assembled en masse and en fete last night. 
I feel certain that the experience of the past six months has 
taken away at least five years from my short span. 

Nov. 28. — There is to be a big feed to-night in the village, 
to the memory of the three lost guides, who fell victims to the 
wrath of the Washenzi. A veritable " wake." We did not 
kill Nelson's goat, as was originally intended, hoping for an 
invitation to the feast, or (better still) that the excitement of 
the occasion might inspire them to send us some food for 
ourselves. The operation of pounding corn into meal has 
been going on vigorously everywhere throughout the village 
to-day. 

I am now in my thirty-first year. Every succeeding year 
passes more rapidly than [its predecessor. I wonder what my 
*' expectation of life " is worth in my present position ! 

I find that the most comfortable costume to adopt here is a 



1887] FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IPOTO. 147 

towel girded round the waist. Most of the inhabitants of the 
village, both men and women, wear nothing at all, so that we 
see a great deal of each other. 

No invitation to the banquet. It passed off quietly, as these 
people possess no intoxicating liquor, and no society journals 
to say what they wore the night before. I will go off to-night, 
and lie in ambush till morning, to try and get a shot at a pig, 
as they always come into the corn-fields in the early morning. 

Nov. 29. — I returned to Nelson about 6.30 a.m., having 
failed to get a shot, after my long night's watching. We had 
now nothing for breakfast, so we sent to the chiefs for food ; 
they replied that they had nothing for us till to-morrow. 
Accordingly, we held a consultation, and decided to finish what 
remained of the quinine and orange- wine — as a prophylactic 
against the fevers of the present day — and then exchange the 
empty bottle for some corn. Undeterred by the large quantity 
of medicine in the bottle, and acting on the principle that if a 
small quantity is so good, more should be better, we divided the 
contents fairly between us, and drank it. After a short time 
we noticed that our conversational powers had developed to a 
pitch that we had not realised since we became denizens of 
the Manyuema settlement, and a marked change appeared to 
arise in our appearance and general behaviour. We also esti- 
mated much more highly the chances of the ultimate success 
of the Emin Pasha Belief Expedition, and felt quite inspired. 
by our own heroism in taking so important a share therein ; 
we even saw favourable visions of our deliverance from the 
talons of the Arab harpies, and of a possible future escape from 
the African forest to the centres of European civilisation. 
Presently the current of ideas became less rapid, and we kept 
repeating the same thing over again once or twice ; and we saw 
the advisability of going to bed, of course. I had been out all 
night, and wanted sleep very much. We acted on this idea, 
finding, as we moved towards our couches, that a considerable 
practical difficulty had arisen in keeping the centre of gravity 
within the base of support. We rapidly subsided into a deep 
sleep, from which we awoke, with marked fuzziness of ideas, to 
realise that we had passed through a process of inebriation. 
No unpleasant consequences, however, followed; we had not 
been guilty of disorderly conduct, and there were no costs 
to pay. 

l 2 



148 EXPEEIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

We now sent down our empty bottle for corn, as the chiefs 
had sent us nothing. 

Nov. 30. — No food was sent by the chiefs to-day. So 
we killed our goat, and cooked the liver and kidneys : they 
were delicious ; but we felt the want of something to eat with 
the meat — some salt, corn, or potatoes (sweet). We have 
dried some goat meat by placing strips of the flesh on a 
chauger (wooden grating) over a smoky fire, under the sun. 
(The weather is so hot here, that meat, if neglected, goes bad 
in one day and a night.) 

I got two cups of Indian meal to-day — a mark of recognition 
of my services from a grateful patient. I expect that this is 
the only source of food left us in the future, as the chiefs 
obstinately continue to refuse giving us anything. 

Nelson has made friends with a few of these people, and 
pays them an occasional visit, always about meal-times, when 
they generally offer him a head of Indian corn. Every 
evening, when the Manyuema have finished work, they come 
and sit around our tents ; sometimes they come inside, and 
handle everything. They are a fearful nuisance ; but it would 
be simple madness to hurt their feelings by objecting to their 
attentions. We do not understand their language, and vice 
versa; so that we are constantly abusing each other face to 
face with impunity. We hold animated conversations ! 

Dec. 1. — Nelson and myself had a shauri with the chiefs 
relative to the important question of feeding us, and receiving 
in return the two extra bales of cloth, as Mr. Stanley had 
guaranteed. Now, however, to our horror, they say that there 
is no food whatever to be got on any terms ; still they always 
have some to sell. Accordingly, the fact is too plain that they 
want to starve us, so that they may drive us to sell the ammu- 
nition and rifles. Ismailia sent us three cups of meal to-day ; 
this must do for us till some more can be got. 

Nelson's temperature is very high to-day; he now has 
remittent fever. Poor fellow ! Wliat surroundings to struggle 
with ! 

Dec. 2. — I remained on the watch all night, trying to get a 
shot at a pig or antelope, but was unsuccessful. Our blankets 
will be the next items to go for eatables. Ourselves and our 
boys are back again on mboga diet. Poor Nelson is still 
very seedy. He asked Ismailia for some beans to plant : 



1887.] FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IPOTO. 149 

lie gave hiin two handfuls, which we planted in front of the 
tents. 

Dec. 3. — To-day I again asked Isinailia when he could send 
for the boxes in Nelson's starvation camp. He told me that 
the three chiefs (Khamisi, Sangarameni, and himself) were 
building houses, and, in consequence, were unable to spare 
carriers at present; he would let us know when they would 
be forthcoming. I intend, of course, to accompany them 
myself. 

Nelson sold a pair of pyjamas for corn, which we planted 
close to our tents. For a long time we have been intending to 
perpetrate this piece of husbandry, but we always ate our grain 
instead of planting it. 

Dec. 4. — I took my boy, Sherif, with rifle and shot-gun, 
and walked to the river (three hours' distance) to see the boat, 
which I found all right as to its twelve sections, and stowed in 
a safe position well away from the river. I shot a small bird 
and a lemur; the latter smelt very "gainey." We passed 
the skeleton of Hateb Wadi Balyuzi on the path. On our 
return we heard the dwarfs shrieking and yelling in the- 
f or est, driving the game up against their huge game-nets, fifty 
or sixty yards in length, and then spearing and shooting 
arrows at the animals which they had hemmed in, to sell for 
grain to the Wasongora. We made very little delay to 
observe their sporting customs. 

Dec. 5. — Last night, when Nelson and myself returned to 
our tents, the former discovered that his two blankets, with the 
sleeping things, and a rope, had been stolen from his tent,, 
although we had been sitting but ten yards off, and my boy 
Sherif had been on sentry at the door all the time. Perhaps 
the boy slept ; but he affirmed most strongly that he neither 
saw nor heard any person enter the tent all the time. The 
thief had evidently got under the tent from behind. Nelson 
immediately reported the matter to the chiefs, the result of 
which was that they brought up this morning one of our 
Zanzibaris, Saraboko, who had brought them one blanket 
and the sleeping things. He had gone to Sangarameni to 
offer to sell them, and was discovered in this way. He 
has confessed to having sold the ammunition and rifle to the 
Manyuema. 

Dec. 6. — Saraboko came this morning, and informed us that 



150 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

it was Baraka, another of our Zanzibaris, who had stolen one 
of the blankets and the rope. He also denied the stealing 
of the ammunition and the rifle, to which he had confessed 
yesterday. 

Last night, as we were going to bed, the three chiefs came 
to us, bringing one of the Zanzibaris, named Mabruki, who 
had, they said, stolen rice from them. We cannot well punish 
the poor wretch ; as he is driven to theft by these people 
witholding food. 

We went to the chiefs to-day, and asked them if we could 
go down to their hut at meal-time, and feed out of the same 
dish with them, or send a messenger to them for a ration of 
food from their meal. They said " yes." So we went down at 
their usual meal-time (dejeuner, or " terekeso ") but found the 
houses of the chiefs all shut up. They had actually gone to 
feed in some secluded spot where we could not find them ! 

I received from Sangarameni three cups of beans — my fee 
for medical attendance and most excellent professional advice. 
We opened Emin Pasha's bales to-clay, and sold two vests ; 
as our own clothes were all gone. Most of Emin's things are 
so damaged by the wet that they are not worth carrying. 

Dec. 7. — I was called up last night to see the wife of one 
of the chiefs, who was taken ill. She was greatly relieved by 
the treatment, and is very much better this morning ; she had 
what is generally known as " a very good time." Khamisi 
brought us three cups of meal last night. This generosity 
is absolutely unprecedented. I do wonder what he wants. 

Nelson and I weighed ourselves to-day. I weighed 155 lbs. : 
Nelson, who is still in a very reduced condition, weighed 
but 135 lbs. We sent for food to-day. Ismailia sent a cup 
and a half of beans. We exchanged a pair of Mr. Stanley's 
drawers, which we found among our things, for some mohindi 
(Indian corn) from Khamisi. 

Dec. 8. — To-day we sent for food, as arranged with the 
chiefs. Their suggestion was, that we might send at their 
meal-time for some of their cooked food. However, we failed 
to get any to-day. Sangarameni relieved me, by giving me 
some beans for professional advice. Medical fees are moderate 
here, in my experience. 

I sold a coat and pair of trousers from Emin's things : 
the price was thirty heads of Indian corn. Food is expensive 



1887.] FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IPOTO. 151 

here. We are, however, fortunate in being able to get plenty 
of native tobacco, which helps to make the burden of existence 
more tolerable. We also while away the time by reading : 
we have a good stock of light literature to drown ennui with. 
To-day, 1 finished Edwin Arnold's " Light of Asia," which I 
enjoyed very much. 

Nelson has now been here thirty-five days. Tempus fugit. 
Our milch goat is running dry : no wonder ! as there are 
her own kid, Nelson and myself, with our two boys, con- 
tinually at her, which must prove a formidable drain on her 
system. 

Dec. 9. — I cannot make out what the chiefs want : they 
have developed a spasmodic attack of generosity. I grow 

more uneasy — 

.... timeo Danaos et dona ferentes. 

— but I may be unjust. Ismailia came to-day with three 
fishes and some Indian flour (or meal) : enough for a sub- 
stantial dinner for us. We also made a good bargain to-day : 
as I got seventy heads of Indian corn, in exchange for a 
merino vest of Emin's. An expedition has evidently returned 
— a suffari (or ruga-ruga) laden with much ivory — as there is 
a great deal of firing of guns in the village, which is a sure 
indication. 

Our chief (I mean Mr. Stanley) must have heard of Emin 
Pasha by this time, as the latter will have received despatches 
from Zanzibar, and have made some preparations for the 
approach of his friends. 

Dec. 10. — Nelson was very feverish last night : temp. 
104° F., with other bad symptoms. He sleeps very badly, 
and has, of course, little or no appetite for any, nourishment. 
Under the circumstances, it might be said that this is 
providential. Very heavy rain fell last night. 

Our lives here are made a continuous torment by the 
shoals of flies, fleas, lice, ants, and all sorts of abominable 
creeping things — the variety appears endless. It is rather 
annoying to reflect that if we had here only a moderate stock 
of the very worst description of calico, we could have a mar- 
ket every morning, and live all day " like fighting cocks." 
As it is, we have nothing to give ; and, as a necessary con- 
sequence, nothing to receive, from these people. 

Dec. 11. — To-day Ismailia brought us some cooked food 



152 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

for the first time, which we ate with greedy relish. The 
menu consisted of rice and goat. 

Nelson is much improved ; the fever has left him, and he,, 
accordingly, feels easy and comparatively comfortable. I 
made the remainder of the rifles (five in number) unservice- 
able. I could not, however, take out more than two of the 
springs, as we have no screw-driver. 

Dec. 12. — I went out for a shot to-day, but got none. The 
Manyuema are constantly discharging their tower muskets, in 
order to frighten off elephants and other trespassers from their 
crops ; this practice keeps all game at a respectful distance from 
us. Besides, walking is very difficult here, as the garden is 
a forest-clearing, so that one is sometimes walking along the- 
trunks of fallen trees at a height of fifteen or twenty feet from the 
ground ; at other times among a dense under-growth, through 
which it is very difficult to force one's way. So the game is 
not worth the candle, as sprains and strains are very common. 

Nelson never slept a wink last night, although he had two 
grains of opium to quiet his nerves. Accordingly he is very 
far from well, although his fever has left him for the present ;, 
and he is extremely irritable. 

I discovered that my boy Sherif has been stealing the 
Eemington cartridges ; but I cannot do more than threaten 
him. If I use any violence, he goes straight off to the Many- 
uema. I have opened most of the boxes of ammunition, and 
dried the cartridges, which had often been submerged on the 
march, so that they were thoroughly saturated. 

Dec. 13. — Went out shooting to-day, but got nothing. I 
sold some more items from Emin Pasha's damaged kit, for food 
for ourselves and our boys. Poor Nelson is very nervous and 
irritable ; the direct result of the weakness produced by his 
illness, and aggravated by starvation and want of sleep. 

Sangarameni gave us six cups of rice. One never gets to 
sleep here till daybreak; it is one long, continuous scratch,, 
scratch : these detestable vermin ! 

Dec. 14. — The chiefs have commenced to construct a new 
village at the opposite end of the chamba. Even they cannot 
bear the filth and stench of the present position any longer. 
They commenced building their own huts first ; they are con- 
structing them of boards, which they make by srjlitting the 
cotton tree into different lengths, with a thatched roof of 



1887.] FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IFOTO. 153 

leaves, and a verandah — abont fifteen yards in length, by five 
yards in breadth, and ten in height. This structure includes 
a granary, to store away rice and corn. In the huts which 
they have been living in, there are circular bins in the centre,, 
in which they store their grain. The frame-work of most of 
the new huts is made of poles of different sizes, with rods inter- 
woven, and the interstices filled with earth. There is also a 
strong boma (zareeba) of interwoven saplings about six feet 
high, surrounding the back of the house, where the women 
bruise (twanga) the corn, and grind it with stones. A latrine is 
included, consisting of the usual Arab items : a deep pit dug in 
the ground, an external covering, a square foot of permanently 
open orifice on the top. There is also the harem enclosure. 

Nelson, poor chap, is still very seedy. He often talks about 
never getting home, which helps to enliven the surroundings. 

Dec. 15. — Spent the day in bed, as I am unable to walk on 
account of enlarged glands in the upper part of the front of my 
left thigh. I developed these decorations from my over-walk- 
ing and jumping in search of a shot the other day. I calculate 
that it will lay me up for a month, and that I will have to use 
the knife on myself. An inspiring anticipation, surely, under 
my circumstances : Nelson not being able to walk a couple of 
hundred yards, for a shot — or for anything else. The poor 
fellow is nothing but skin and bone, and the skin is broken in 
several places, especially over the back (sacrum) and hips 
(trochanters), where he has large bed-sores. 

Dec. 16. — Dreadful news to-day ; our milch goat has been 
lost ; or, to state the fact more correctly, has been stolen. This 
is a terrible business for us — we will now have but rice and 
porridge, and I will be confined to bed for a long time to come, 
as there is very great inflammatory swelling about my left hip 
and thigh, with a decidedly erysipelatous-looking blush, and 
an accompanying temperature of 100° F. I am sure I've got 
blood-poisoning, from the continual handling of the ulcers from 
which so many of our men are suffering ; and the condition is 
necessarily aggravated by the results of the wretched dieting 
to which I have been so long obliged to accommodate myself. 

A most lovely sunset this evening ! One would like to be 
able to enjoy it, but the surroundings are rather against the 
full appreciation of aesthetic effects. 

Dec. 17. — Nelson lies in his hammock during the greater 



154 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

part of the day. He cannot lie on any hard surface, on account 
of his bed-sores. He now conies to see me, instead of my 
going to see him. I am worse to-day ; the inflammation is 
spreading up the walls of the abdomen, and down the left 
thigh, and the scarlet hue of the surface has been exchanged 
for a deep livid tint. The surface pits on pressure, and there 
is intense pain. No position is comfortable for me. I injected 
some cocaine, with the intention of making an incision to 
relieve the extreme tension ; but I postponed (or rather 
" funked ") the latter performance till to-morrow. 

No news of our goat. I tried to-day to sell my shot-gun 
(value £25) for a goat, but could not get one of my accommo- 
dating neighbours to make the exchange. 

Three Manyuema were killed by natives yesterday. 

Dec. 18. — I have now been here exactly two months, and 
must say that I sincerely hope no other white man will ever 
be left among these barbarous Manyuema for so long a time. 
They have plenty of food, but will not give us a share, although 
we have now sold them everything that we can possibly dis- 
pense with. 

Dec. 19. — Nelson is very weak — so far gone, indeed, that 
he will certainly die if he is attacked by any acute disease, as 
he has no strength left to bear up against it, and there is no 
nourishment to be procured for him by any means I know of. 
It is really heartrending to look on at his declining condition, 
fading as he is day by day ; so much so, that although I am 
glad to have his company, I would, from all other considera- 
tions, much rather be alone. 

A goat, slightly smoked, was brought to us to-day. I fully 
believe it is our own which they treated in this way. A suffari 
came in, and Sangarameni brought us a few cups of corn. I 
gave myself a large injection of cocaine, as a local anaesthetic, 
and Nelson operated on me. He made an incision about two 
inches in length, and two in depth : then quickly disappeared 
from my tent. A very profuse kaBinorrhage followed, which 
weakened me considerably. I was to have had two incisions, 
but the one he gave me was as much as I cared to experience. 
Poor fellow ! he used to be called by the men " Panda-la- 
niwana," the Swahili term meaning " big man," on account of 
his size and strength ; and now he is reduced to a walking 
skeleton of 135 lbs. weight. 



1887.] . FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IPOTO. 155 

Dec. 20. — I have been greatly relieved by the operation. I 
got a few snatches of sleep last night, but always awoke with a 
start at the least noise. I am quite unstrung by my anxious 
fears about the ammunition and rifles ; we are so badly able to 
watch them now, or prevent their being stolen. We were 
obliged to-day to give a Kemington rifle to a chief for a goat, 
so as to have some meat for Christmas. I also sold one of 
Emin's flannel vests. At this rate we can hold out but for a 
month or so ; and Mr. Stanley writes to say that we may be 
relieved after three months ! Nelson is so ill from fever that 
he could not retain his breakfast this morning. 

Dec. 21. — I got eight heads of corn for professional services 
this morning. The chiefs paid us a visit, and arranged to give 
us two milch goats, and a third, which was to be eaten, at the 
rate of a rifle each. The latter soon arrived — a skeleton ! 
The second chief then announced by message that his female 
goat was enceinte, under which circumstances he expects thirty 
cartridges extra. The third chief sent us a male goat, repre- 
senting his idea of keeping his contract for a milch one. So 
we did not give our rifles. 

We are now collecting our nice things for Christmas. To- 
day we bought a lot of insects — they look half bee and half 
grub — which are found in the soil here, and are said to be a 
luxury. 

Dec. 22. — There is great excitement throughout the village 
to-day. Guns are fired off in all directions, to announce the 
arrival of the advance guard of Kilonga Longa, who is the 
head chief of this and several similar settlements of ivory- 
hunters in the dejDths of the African continent. This " swell " 
is himself under the command of Abed Bin Salim, an Arab 
of great importance in the trade. His men say that Kilonga 
Longa is still ten days off. 

Last night, I had to go out of my tent and describe for 
myself a fiery circle, within which I lay to protect myself from 
the ants. These brutes had besieged me in my tent, and 
ended by expelling me. Within the zone of combustion I 
was, of course, safe enough, as they frizzled up when they 
approached the red-hot embers. Their business habits are 
certainly most systematic ; they travel (in myriads) in long 
array, arranged about eighty abreast. I have seen such a 
column pass through my tent — taking complete possession — 



156 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

for twenty-four successive hours. As they travel very fast, I 
am sure such a column was several miles in length. They 
have their generals and staff, scouts, commissariat, transport, 
and intelligence departments, &c, &c. ; and, even without 
the employment of reel tape, they make a most formidable 
enemy, as you learn to your cost when you have disturbed the 
harmony of their progress. 

Dec. 23. — I am much better to-day, although not yet able 
to walk more than five or ten yards without resting. The 
erysipelas still lingers, and the temperature remains high. 
There is great redness and swelling, with extreme tension. 
Nelson gave me a real good cut — and the consequent loss of 
blood made me feel quite faint. I do hope that we may be 
able to come to pterins with Kilonga Longa about food ; for I 
have by this time learned to think, with many others, that the 
stomach really governs the world after all. 

Dec. 24. — The pain from my erysipelas was very intense to- 
day ; so bad that I was unable to get out of bed. We bought 
some " nousoir" made from pounded ants. These animals are 
caught by the artifice of making a hole close to an ant-heap, 
placing a little fire in it, and then covering it up. The ants 
are attracted by the heat ; and, in the morning they are col- 
lected, pounded in a Jchino, and cooked. The mess so prepared 
eats like caviare. The white ants make the more palatable 
viand. 

Two of the chiefs have gone with food to meet Kilonga 
Longa. Last night Ismailia came and told in a confidential 
way that we had better buy sufficient food for ten days, as 
Kilonga Longa's people would eat up everything when they 
arrived. This philanthropic suggestion was, of course, made 
for the purpose of drawing us into buying food from him. 
However, we did not mind him, as we have secured a goat,, 
some beans, and some corn, for to-morrow's feast : which both 
of us purpose partaking in bed, as neither is in a fit state to 
rise or move about. 

Omar, one of our Zanzibaris, came to me this evening with 
a great spear-wound in his back, from which he must die. 
Poor lad ! he was caught stealing food, and a spear-head was 
driven straight into him. 

Dec. 25. — I spent the day in bed, lying on our ammunition 
boxes. 3Iy temperature was 102°, and my erysipelas worse. 



1887.] FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IPOTO. 157 

The latter is now extending clown the left leg. I am greatly 
afraid that this thing will keep me on my back for a long 
time. Nelson, I am glad to say, is now better. He super- 
intended the dinner, which consisted of goat and rice. I wish 
all my friends at home a happier Christmas than I myself 
•can enjoy. 

Dec. 26. — My erysipelas came to a stand-still during last 
night ; I keep fomenting it all day. Nelson is very attentive 
to me, but whenever he comes in he begins scratching, and 
the example cannot be resisted. Some Manyuema came to 
us for shirts to-day, so we opened Emin's bale again, and took 
out four, which went for comparatively little food. Those 
men who did not get a shirt declared that they would stab 
our boys on their way for water. They have shown themselves, 
to our knowledge, quite capable of such deeds of revenge ; for 
the chief Ismailia cut off a slave girl's hand at the wrist only 
a few days ago, for some trivial offence. 

Another month, and all our Zanzibaris will be dead from 
starvation ! Twelve have disappeared already of the twenty- 
seven we were left, and I feel certain that some of them have 
been eaten by the villagers ; for it is not uncommon to find in 
the forest the ashes of a dead fire, with human bones close by. 
We have been saved up to the present from a similar fate by 
judicious disposal of our clothes and rifles, with Emin's kit, 
shirts, drawers, buttons, and tarboush. Peradventure when 
Kilonga Longa comes, he may look upon his white servants 
with an eye of favour. I will hope. Is it not possible that 
one just man may be found, even in an Arab settlement? 
Kilonga Longa has been accustomed to white men. I can 
only trust that they made a favourable impression on him. 

Dec. 27. — Our position here is not without its comic side, 
for we are all cripples — our two boys included ; and are in the 
worst possible humour with our surroundings, aggravated, of 
course, by weakness, fever, dirt, starvation, and the detestable 
Manyuema — who push themselves into our tents without 
asking our leave, squat on our beds, and break the tenth 
commandment in presence of every article of our property. 
We purchased bananas to-day, for pins and needles. The 
Manyuema make a very serviceable grass cloth which they 
dye with a variety of colours, and sew with grass thread and a 
needle made of rattan cane, with eye complete. The chiefs have 



158 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1887. 

ordered us to give up our hut to Kilonga Louga's people : it 
has been our only protection during the burning heat of 
the clay. 

Dec. 28. — Another man, Bin Ali Kornbo, died to-day, of 
starvation. Khamisi, the head chief, came to me this morning 
complaining of sickness and wanting to be doctored, so I 
thought I would " take it out of him " by keeping the line of 
communication open ; but I confess that I am growing a little 
anxious now, as he has not been able to find his legs since. 

Another serio-comic difficulty in our way : we find the 
milking of our goat a terrible task — to say the least of it. 
She is very strong, and we are all cripples : so she leads all 
five of us a merry dance, whenever we try to obtain some 
of the innocent beverage. What makes matters worse is, 
that she seems to have the power of retaining her milk, in 
spite of most strenuous exertions, after we have succeeded in 
bringing her to a stand-still. 

Dec. 29. — I am now able to move a little ; so I had a bath 
this morning — the first for a good number of days. Nelson, I 
am glad to say, is also improving. The beans and corn which 
we planted have now grown to a foot in height. In this 
country the corn is ready to be used for food within three 
months from the date of sowing the seed : the beans are ripe 
in two months. The weeds grow most luxuriantly ; and there 
is great trouble in keeping them down, which appears to be 
the great drawback in nature's beneficence. 

The chiefs, Sangarameni and Makabolo, returned to-day : 
they went only as far as Nelson's camp. Ismailia continued 
his march to meet Kilonga Longa. 

We are having the last of our rice to-night. We have still, 
however, a cup of beans left for to-morrow. We are all im- 
proving, and are, consequently, in better spirits and temper 
than we have been enjoying for some time. 

A very heavy thunderstorm broke over us last night, which 
was preceded by a violent tornado. 

Dec. 30.— 

Dec. 31. — The last day of the old year ! Let us hope that 
the new one will be a little more pleasant. I am making a 
bad finish anyhow ; as I have got a relapse of my erysipelas, 
with a temperature of 104°, and am unable to move. 

Khamisi came up to my tent to-day, and informed me that 



1887.] FURTHER EXPERIENCES AT IPOTO. 159 

lie had been very uneasy since he took the medicine, but was 
not at all disposed to deny its beneficial effects : he suggested, 
however, that two — instead of four — tabloids (" Livingstone 
rousers ") would be enough when it became desirable to give 
the remedy another trial. 

These rascally chiefs know that both Nelson and myself are 
confined to our beds, and cannot get out to shoot anything 
eatable ; also that we have no food left now : yet when I asked 
Ismailia for something to supply us for the morrow, he coolly 
replied that he had no food to give. The wretch ! I will try 
and get him to swallow eight tabloids instead of four, if I get 
the chance of physicking him in the near future. Kilonga 
Longa has been delayed on the road by his wife's confinement ; 
so he will not be here for some days. We have great hopes of 
getting some food from him ; so we pray that Mrs. Kilonga 
Longa may hurry up, for we must live in the interval on 
fungi, leaves, and any other small items we may be lucky 
enough to get. I wish she was more considerate and reached 
here, for then I might have got a fee ; although such cases are 
not my specialty, I must confess. Auld lang syne ! 



160 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

A STUDY OF BACTEKIOLOGY. 

The village of Tpoto — Condition, of Xelson and myself — We talk about the 
causation of disease — Our slumbers are disturbed by visions of disease 
generators — Account of some of the disease-producing agents — Leeuwen- 
hoek's work entitled "Arcana Naturae T)etecta'' — The discovery of 
microbes — Miiller's investigations — The old term animalcuke — The 
Bacillus anthracis found by Davaine — Eecent progress of bacteriology — 
The doctrine of biogenesis — The amoeba — The human ovum — Bacteria — 
Theory of Beauchamp, the French scientist — Shapes and dimensions of 
microbes — Theory of the bacterial origin of disease — M. Miqnel's calcula- 
tions regarding bacteria — M. Pasteur and microbe cultivation — Active 
mobility of bacteria — Reproduction of the bacterium — Appearance of 
bacteria in the fluids and tissues of the human body — Professor Koch and 
diseases of bacterial origin — Bacteria and the tissues of the animal 
organism — Phagocytes and leucocytes — The "attenuation of the virus" 
— Professor Toussaint and protective inoculation — Forms and colours 
of microbes — Piebald state of our bodies — Fresh eggs not laid in 
Africa — Theft by my boy Sherif — A suitable place for a missionary 
station — Arrival of Kilonga Longa and his caravan — Also some of our 
missing Zanzibaris — A nocturnal thief — Capture and punishment of 
Kamaroni — Kilonga Longa and other chiefs pay us a state visit — Discuss- 
ing Mr. Stanley's agreement regarding food supply — Nelson and I are 
driven into a state of temporary insanity by the itching — Heavy rains 
and their effect — Lack of good nature among the Manyuema and our 
Zanzibaris — My poor donkey in trouble — Another column of ants — a 
Manyuema medicine man — The Zanzibaris apply to Kilonga Longa for 
food — Massage — A slave set on by his comrades and eaten — Arab customs 
practised by the Manyuema. 

Jan. 1, 1888. — A happy New Year to all relations and 
friends ! We have two onions and a cup of rice to provision 
all five of ns for the day. I had another relapse of my 
erysipelas last night, so I do not feel quite so bright as I could 
wish. In the evening we sold a Kemington rifle, for 500 heads 
of corn and some rice. 

I do not think I noted before that this village is situated 
almost on the Equator ; Ipoto is its name, and Mabambi is 
that of the native chief. I passed away most of my useless 
time as I lay in bed to-day in meditating on my position and 
calculating on our future movements, if we ever get the chance 



1888.] A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 161 

of making any : according to my reckoning it will be eighteen 
months before we get home. 

Jan. 2. — I am much better to-day ; but Nelson is still very 
prostrate. His temperature is very high, and his febrile 
symptoms very severe. It is hard to say, indeed, which would 
obtain first prize as the greater cripple. 

In the waning; lisrlit of last evening Xelson and myself, for 
want of a more inspiring topic of conversation, descanted upon 
the causation of disease. The subject was sufficiently con- 
venient to hand, as the temperature of each of us was over 
104° F. At first the discussion seemed to have a rather 
soothing effect, as we supplied one another with a good deal 
of mutual sympathy ; but, as the prolonged talking came to 
increase our sense of physical weakness, we began to feel the 
worse for it bye-and-bye. From the discussion we gradually 
subsided into an unquiet sleep ; the rest derived from which 
was sadly interfered with by the feverish visions of the disease- 
generators, whose forms and functions we had been picturing 
to ourselves durins; the recent waking hours. Our heated 
brains soon magnified the microscopic entities, to whose pre- 
sence in our vessels and tissues we had been attributing our 
present condition, to forms of colossal dimensions. On com- 
paring notes in the morning, we found that our sleeping ideas 
had been running on nearly parallel lines, and the grotesque 
mental creations which accompanied us during the night gave 
us, perhaps, the least refreshing slumbers which we have 
enjoyed since our arrival at Ipoto. The phantoms of these 
destructive agents assumed the forms of every malignant 
spirit or demon of which we had heard or read since infancy; 
and their united hosts were sufficient, in our disordered imagi- 
nations, to overspread, not only the inhospitable 3Ianyuema 
camp, but an indefinite area of the adjacent forest. They 
frequently changed their shapes with the inexplicable rapidity 
of all creations of the sleeping brain, especially when under 
the influence of disease ; and their kaleidoscopic combinations 
were of far too great variety for memory to re-create next day. 
The prevailing wish with either dreamer appears to have been 
that they would depart from our immediate vicinity, and con- 
centrate all their attention on our inhospitable hosts in the 
neighbouring camp ; for whom their appearance and apparent 
intentions would seem to constitute them suitable company. 

31 



162 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

But, alas ! our will-power was all too weak to influence their 
movements ; they hovered over us with all the indications of 
persistent malevolence, and seemed to exist but for the un- 
divided purpose of our destruction. We cordially welcomed 
the morning light, which effectually relieved us from their 
presence, and we vowed that during the rest of our illness we 
would devote none of our waking energies to the further dis- 
cussion of the forms or life-histories of any of the invisible 
pests, whose career we had been trying to follow in last 
evening's twilight. 

[The visions of that night have often recurred to me since 
my return to the regions of civilisation and science : I have 
found that one of the most serious tasks awaiting me on mv 
return home was the unavoidable duty of endeavouring to 
make myself acquainted in some measure with the enormous 
numbers of disease-producing agents, which the rapid advances 
of bacteriological investigation have brought under the notice 
of the scientist of the present day. Accordingly, as the 
subject is one which has excited interest among reading and 
thinking people, of every race and of every class, I will here 
give, in language as simple and direct as I can, an account of 
the principal facts of which we now hold undisputed possession 
in this most interesting and most important department of 
biology. 

As the dimensions of any of the minute parasites, with the 
presence of which the morbid processes that affect the human 
organism appear to be inseparably connected, are far too 
diminutive to come within the range of unaided vision, all 
knowledge of their appearance, or even of their existence, has 
necessarily followed the invention of the microscope. Accord- 
ingly, the first recorded observations on these organisms are 
those of the famous Dutch naturalist, Leeuwenhoek, by whom 
they were embodied in a work entitled " Arcana Naturae 
Detecta," which was published at Delft in the year 1695. It 
is hardly known to the scientist of the present day, but will 
still well repay the trouble of consulting its pages. As the 
lenses used by this author were absolutely primitive, and their 
magnifying power never exceeded 200 diameters, the range 
and the . exactness of his observations furnish the highest 
testimony to his industry and accuracy. He found minute 
organisms in various specimens of dust, in those of scrapings 



1888.] A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 163 

collected from sundry surfaces, and in the interstices of 
different mosses ; he afterwards brought his investigations to 
bear on the human body, and demonstrated the presence of 
microbes in saliva, in the tartar of teeth, and in the intestinal 
juice : he also announced the fact, which has had its practical 
importance impressed upon the world only of very recent 
years — that the number of intestinal microbes is greatly 
increased in cases of diarrhoea. 

Leeuwenhoek also discovered the red corpuscles of the blood, 
and announced with still greater enthusiasm, his observations 
on the homunciiliis, the nature and properties of which have 
been facetiously exhibited to the every-day English reader in 
the familiar pages of " Tristram Shandy." 

Although the discovery of the microbe was, as a matter of 
physical necessity, postponed till after the discovery of the 
utilisation of the properties of refracted light, we may trace 
mystical hints of their existence — little less than prophetic, 
considering the date of their announcement — through the 
writings of some of the Greek and Koman philosophers : in 
the poetry of Lucretius, and in the prose of Aristotle. The 
aphorism of the former : 

Corruptio unius, generatio alterius 

might well be adopted as a motto for an exhaustive manual 
of bacteriology in the present day. 

The next important epoch in this line of research was formed 
by the investigations of Mtiller, who divided the unlimited 
number of microscopic beings — which had been collected by 
the famous naturalist, Linnaeus, into one group, under the 
comprehensive name of chaos — into two great genera : monas 
and vibrio. These denominations still continue to exist, 
although the nomenclature of their author has been, of course, 
entirely superseded. 

These early observers had noticed the movements of the 
minute organisms in question, and, as the idea of spontaneous 
movement had, ever since the days of Aristotle, been accepted 
as the absolute characteristic of animal life, nobody then 
thought of regarding them otherwise than as members of the 
animal kingdom. They were generally spoken of as ani- 
malcules. The hitherto unquestioned dogma of the Stagyrite 
was overthrown (in 1847) by Thuret, whose investigations on the 

M 2 



161 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888, 

zoospores of certain algse, demonstrated that some of the lower 
vegetable forms exhibited distinct movements, such as had pre- 
viously been looked upon as characteristic of animal existence. 
The frequency of this form of vegetable locomotion, and its 
mechanism, by the agency of vibratile cilia, were amply illus- 
trated by Charles Robin, in 1853, in his interesting and 
instructive " Traite cles Vegetaux Parasites." Still the ideas 
of natural historians on the subject remained vague and 
unsettled. The earliest discovery of the existence of a microbe 
in diseased animal tissues was that of the Bacillus antliracis, 
found by Davaine in "malignant pustule." This announce- 
ment was made in 1850 ; and the observer, who had noticed 
the immobility of the parasite, suggested that such forms 
should be distinguished as bacteridia, and referred to the 
natural family Oscillariacese, while those endowed with spon- 
taneous movement, must still be regarded as members of the 
animal kingdom, and known as "bacteria. Since that date, 
however, all authors have agreed that the micro-organisms in 
question must be, without any exception, referred to the 
vegetable kingdom. Where they are to be located there is a 
question which has not, however, been so satisfactorily settled. 
Some will connect them with the algse; some with the fungi : 
and botanical names of very high authority are connected 
with either view. Nageli has proposed the collective name of 
schizomycetes, and Cohn that of schizophytes, as best indicating* 
their general nature. The generic name of microbe was sug- 
gested by Sedillot (in 1878), and has been consecrated by the 
unique etymological authority of M. Littre, who pronounced it 
irreproachable. This, and the older appellation of bacterium. 
are the ones which have met with wide- spread acceptance. 

Closely connected with the history of bacteriology, is that 
of the doctrine of biogenesis. The reality of spontaneous 
generation has been very ably advocated in some quarters, 
but the decision is now as nearly universal as can well be 
hoped for in case of any scientific dispute ; and it is, that 
Harvey's aphorism, Omne vivum ex ovo, must be accepted, and 
that no new form suddenly springs into existence, but always 
owes its origin to a parent of similar characteristics. The 
tendency of modern biological investigation has also been to 
show that the first apjDearance of organic life on our planet 
was of the simplest form, and was probably represented by a 



1888.] A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 1G5 

single cell. In the gradual lapse of ages, progressive deve- 
lopment went on with the multiplication of living types, and 
the division of labour in the physiological mechanism led, by 
very gradual stages, to the building up of the complex forms 
and functions which now prevail in the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms. A definite, and probably by no means misleading, 
idea of the primitive form may be gathered in the present 
day from the examination of the structure and functions of a 
creature of microscopic dimensions, but of great scientific 
celebrity — the amoeba. This minute organism is formed of a 
slightly granular mass of jelly-like matter (protojrfasm), which 
presents no definite shape, as it is always thrusting out pro- 
cesses (idseudopodia) in all directions ; by the aid of which it 
performs progressive gliding or rolling movements, in such a 
striking way as to have of late years furnished a classic 
phrase to the scientific vocabulary of the English language. 
Its accommodating structure allows it to flow over and draw 
into its own interior microscopic vegetable organisms which 
•come in its way, a portion of which becomes digested and 
.assimilated, after which the residue is expelled from the most 
convenient part of the surface of its body. When touched by 
any external object whose acquaintance it does not seem 
desirous of cultivating, it is at once seen to move in instant 
response to the irritation applied. And so the amceba lives its 
simple life. It reproduces its own image by the formation of 
a constriction around some part of the jelly-like mass, which 
goes on deepening, till a separate portion has been cut off, and 
.at once proceeds to live an independent existence precisely 
similar to that of its parent. Thus the amoeba moves, without 
defined limbs ; eats and digests, without mouth, teeth, or 
alimentary canal; presents the phenomena of sensibility, 
without a trace of a nervous system ; and, under favourable 
circumstances, will increase and multiply in endless numbers, 
without any distinction of sex, or a trace of differentiation of 
sexual organs. 

Xow the highest existing form of animal life — man himself 
— begins life as a single cell (called the ovum), the intimate 
structure of which does not appear to differ in any specific 
features from that of our modest friend, the amceba. It cannot 
perform the free movements of the amoeba, for it is imbedded 
in the animal body, and has to adapt itself to its surroundings ; 



166 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

and its changes of position are rather passive than active. It 
multiplies, by division of its own substance, as does the 
amoeba ; but not beyond a certain definite limit. And with the 
further history of these descendants of the original ovum, may 
be traced the specific differences which arise with the higher 
specialization of tissues and functions as we ascend the scale in 
the animal kingdom. Xo specialization of any kind can be 
observed in the minute speck of protoplasm which forms the 
body of our primitive amoeba. And, as we ascend in the vari- 
ous gradations of animal life, the one great principle which 
underlies all the distinctive differences observed between the 
lower and higher forms is that of the division of physiological 
labour among the constituent cells. The humblest citizen of 
the animal kingdom is an undifferentiated cell : the highest is 
formed of a countless number of these elementary structures, 
variously modified, and set apart to perform definite functions 
in their respective positions in the economy ; but all descended 
from a single (and simple) parent cell — the ovum. And all 
varieties of intermediate forms are found, in which the great 
distinction is the earlier or later period of the arrest of the 
application of this same principle of physiological division 
of labour. So that, perhaps, the strongest of all arguments 
in favour of the principle of evolution, is the fact that the 
life-history of each higher plant and animal presents an 
epitome of that of every organism which happens to stand 
lower than itself in the developmental scale of its kingdom. 

But, while this predominant law of progressively increasing 
complexity of structure has been governing the visible 
members of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, a great group 
of humble plants, so small as to be unnoticeable by the naked 
eye, and so numerous as to tax the calculating powers of the 
advanced mathematician, appear to have continued to live and 
multiply in their primitive state of structural simplicity. The 
minuteness of their size accounts for the fact that their exist- 
ence has become known to man only in the latter days ; they 
are his microscopic contemporaries, and his possible ancestors ; 
they have alternately been described, according to the point of 
view from which they have been regarded, as man's invisible 
— but most important — friends, and as man's deadliest foes. 
These are the BACTERIA. 

The long-disputed question as to which organic kingdom 



1888.] A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 167 

they really belonged, has now been for some years settled, by 
their unanimous recognition as plants, and their established 
relationship (preferably) to the alga?. These minute organ- 
isms vary a good deal in shape, but the great majority eon- 
form to three outline groups : spheroidal or ovoidal (coccus, 
■micro-coccus) ; rod-shaped (bacillus) ; and, spiral or corkscrew- 
shaped (spirillum). They appear under the microscope as 
pale, translucent bodies ; whose outlines, to be made distinct, 
must be stained with some of the aniline dyes. The majority 
move, during life, with extraordinary activity, and perform 
curiously complicated series of gymnastic exercises as we watch 
them under favourable conditions. To promote their vigour, 
and foster their reproductive power, they must be supplied 
with warmth, moisture, oxygen, and a certain proportion of 
organic matter. Under these conditions, they carry on their 
own nutrition by breaking up the dead organic material,, 
selecting such portions of it as they find appropriate for assi- 
milation, and setting free the rest in such condition as to be 
readily utilized by other living beings. Accordingly, the 
advocates of the bacteria point out to us that they are the most 
important of all agents in keeping the store of material neces- 
sary for the maintenance of organic life on earth always ready 
to hand in available form ; that, without them, the necessarily 
limited supply w T ould rapidly run short, no phenomena of 
putrefaction could appear, and even somatic death would not 
set free the material necessary for the growth of new beings, 
which must, under such circumstances, soon cease to appear. 
And thus the worn-out and otherwise unavailable forms of 
organic matter, which would, without the intervention of such 
agency, have lain locked up in the deceased animal and vege- 
table structures over the face of the earth, are silently torn to 
pieces and teased out, in such a way as to be readily utilized by 
the new forms of life. 

Everywhere that man can penetrate, bacteria are to be 
found. Their multitudinous shapes and forms occupy the 
surfaces of all animal and vegetable beings ; on the face of the 
waters and of the dry land they form layers, and penetrate 
to a moderate distance into the superficial strata of the soil. 
We live in an ocean of bacteria. They swarm wherever dust 
can penetrate and collect ; we swallow myriads of them with 
every morsel of uncooked food. Their collective existence 



108 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

and life-history is an unseen marvel : a saintly schoolman of 
the middle ages addled his brains and mystified his contem- 
poraries in calculating, by pure force of logic, how many angels 
could dance on the point of a needle ; modern bacteriology has 
furnished more tangible results — it has made us quite familiar 
with organisms of which more than a thousand may be com- 
fortably located, in apposition, across the head of a pin ; and, 
which multiply with such rapidity, in their own method of 
geometrical progression, that, according to the calculation of 
an eminent biologist, a single one must, if the proper conditions 
could be maintained, in less than five days generate a mass 
that would fill the space occupied by all the oceans on the 
earth's surface, supposing these to have an average depth of 
oDe mile. But such limitless reproduction is effectually 
held in check by the relentless laws of nature ; the struggle 
for existence goes on as fiercely and viciously among the 
bacteria as it does among the most highly organized animal 
forms. 

Such are the revelations of modern science. We have 
noticed the comparability of the amoeba, the bacterium, and 
the human ovum. So strongly have some eminent biologists 
been impressed by the essential similarity of these various 
cellular structures and their products, that an accomplished 
French scientist, Beauchamp, has advanced, with great in- 
genuity, the theory that the cellular structures of which the 
whole animal body is built up are all microzymas, which require 
but the intervention of a morbid process to transform them 
directly into bacteria. This transition has not, however, been 
traced ; and any attempt to discuss the arguments for or against 
its occurrence, would probably lead us from the domains of 
natural history and pathology into that of metaphysics. 

The practical interest of all bacteriological investigation is 
gathered round the central fact that all the morbid processes 
which threaten the life of man, or tend to diminish his physical 
welfare, appear to be accompanied — each by a characteristic 
bacterium. A stronger claim on our attention could hardlv 
be devised ; it is quite sufficient to account for the enthusiastic 
perseverance with which the forms and habits of the various 
bacteria have been studied during the past few years, and the 
emlarras des richesses which the pursuit has resulted in present- 
ing to the scientific world. I have already referred to the 



1888.] A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 169 

three prevailing shapes of bacteria — the ball, the rod, and the 
corkscrew. These more typical forms are, as will easily be 
expected, variously modified ; but, as a rule, only within mode- 
rate limits. A variety of the rod-shaped bacterium (bacillus), 
presenting a slightly wavy form, is also characterized by a 
peculiar tremulous or vibratory movement, and has on this 
account been distinguished by the name of vibrio. A bacillus 
of exceptional length is known as leptothrix. Special modifi- 
cations of the corkscrew forms are known as spirulina and 
spirochete. Again, many of the ball-shaped bacteria have dis- 
tinguished themselves in their growth by their tendency to 
arrange themselves in definite groups : some form chains — 
hence the name streptococcus ; others form clusters like bunches 
of grapes — on this account called staphylococcus ; and so on. 
Hoffman, and after him Klebs and Billroth, have tried to found 
a classification of bacteria based on their relative dimensions : 
they divided them into micro-, meso-, and mega-bacteria; but 
this arrangement appears to me to be the most artificial, and 
least practical, that I know of. 

Knowing, as we now do, that morbid processes are accom- 
panied by the presence of characteristic bacteria, one of the 
most interesting questions connected with the well-being cf 
humanity must certainly be that of the exact nature of the 
connection between the presence of these minute organisms 
and the existence of the corresponding phenomena of disease. 
That their presence is characteristic is now admitted by all ; 
how far the accompanying disease is dependent on their 
presence, and might be prevented by their exclusion, or re- 
moved by their extinction, is the aspect of the question which 
still admits of some dispute. The answer to this query now 
given by scientists is usually an emphatic affirmative; the 
objections which have been made by the sceptical are mainly 
as follows : (1) the presence of the bacterium is merely an 
epiphenomenon, and is in no sense the cause of the disease, 
but is, on the contrary, a result of the process — a morbid 
product ; (2) the presence of bacteria in atmospheric air has 
not been satisfactorily demonstrated, so that the phenomena 
of infection cannot well be accounted for by their transmission ; 

(3) disease varies more in individual cases than it could well 
do if due in every instance to a single specific bacterium; 

(4) the phenomena of disease are not due to the presence of 



170 EXPEBIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

bacteria, but to the action of certain poisonous alkaloids- 
(ptomaines) which are secreted by them. 

The last of these objections appears to be but a childish 
quarrel about words, and cannot at best be said to include 
more than the affirmation that the bacterial influence is in- 
direct, and not direct, as was asserted. It always brings to 
my mind the profound nursery illustration of the difference 
between a cat looking out of a window and a cat looking in, 
and may be fairly answered — with a dignified display of 
learning — by applying the antiquated scholastic argument : 
Quod est causa causse est causa causati. 

The third objection, which opposes the extreme variety of 
the morbid phenomena to the unity of the species of bacterium 
to whose presence they are due, is one which, of course, requires 
more serious consideration. Still, I can hardly regard the 
difficulty which it presents as a very serious one. When we 
consider the great variability of the human organism, and the 
different degrees of resistance, which its tissues — affected by 
heredity, habit, previous disease, climate, quality of food, and 
a host of other influences — are likely to offer to the progress 
of the invading microbe, we cannot, I think, expect a greater 
uniformity of phenomena than we actually meet in practice. 

The second of the above objections does not, I think, offer 
any serious obstacle to the acceptance of the bacterial origin 
of disease. Some of the most competent authorities have 
succeeded in demonstrating the presence of pathogenic bac- 
teria in atmospheric air : it is not necessary to suppose that 
they abound in comparatively pure air, and no one can now 
question the fact that they are found adhering to particles of 
dust and of moisture. 

The first objection, which, although not demonstrable, had 
a great air of plausibility so long as its possibility could be 
maintained, has been completely demolished by the inoculation 
experiments of recent years. There can no further remain 
any doubt as to the relationship of the presence of bacteria 
and the phenomena of disease in the order of time. 

We have now glanced at the principal objections that have 
been made to the generally- accepted theory of the bacterial 
origin of disease, and indicated superficially some of the more 
noticeable physical features of the bacteria themselves. Let 
us return and glance at them a little more closely. The 



1888.] A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 171 

number and minuteness of those bodies will perhaps be more 
forcibly impressed on the general reader by the fact that 
M. Miquel calculated the proportion present in a specimen of 
water in which dirty linen had been soaked, at 26,000,000 per 
cubic centimetre. According to the same authority, the 
presence of a million of microbes in a cubic centimetre of 
water does not in the least affect its crystalline transparency. 
This information is all the more important in presence of the 
fact that the micro-organisms of the most formidable epidemic 
diseases are chiefly conyeyed by this medium. 

The superficial layers of earthy soil are ordinarily found to 
be very much richer in bacteria than the water of the neigh- 
bouring pools, even when the latter possesses no special pre- 
tensions to cleanliness. M. Miquel, whose calculations have 
been confirmed by those of other observers, calculates the 
average number present per gramme of earth at 800,000 to 
900,000. They cover all the surfaces — animal, vegetable, and 
mineral — over the superficial area of our terrestrial globe. 
The skin of the grape is dusted over with a micro-organism 
(Mycoderma cerevisias) whose presence is essential to the phe- 
nomenon of alcoholic fermentation ; and the cuticle of the 
human being is habitually powdered with the pus-producing 
agent (Staphylococcus pyogenes aureus), which quietly lies in 
wait for a breach of continuity through which it can effect an 
entrance. The superficial layers of the soil frequently yield 
to the scientific explorer numerous specimens of the bacillus 
of charbon, the vibrio of septicaemia, and the drumstick mi- 
crobe of tetanus. Like all other organized beings, they require 
for their nutrition a medium containing a mineral, a hydro- 
carbonaceous, and a nitrogenous constituent. Acting on this 
knowledge, M. Pasteur has been able to cultivate them in an 
artificial solution containing ; 



Water. 


. 


, 


100 grammes. 


Sugar candy . 




g 


10 „ 


Ammonium carbonate 




. 


1 


Yeast cinders 


. 


. 


1 „ 



A true respiratory function is performed by every living 
microbe ; and, although they are very generally divided into 
aerobic and anaerobic (following the example of M. Pasteur 
himself), according to their behaviour in presence of oxygen , 
it is not the less true that the presence of this element is 



172 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

absolutely* necessary to the existence of all. It is well known 
that a typical anaerobic specimen, such as the Bacillus amylo- 
hacter, will rapidly perish when brought into contact with 
oxygen of even moderate purity. It has also been demon- 
strated that no aerobic form hitherto discovered can exist in 
an atmosphere of oxygen, when condensed by a pressure of 
fifteen atmospheres. It has likewise been proved that the 
most decidedly anaerobic forms absolutely require for their 
preservation a certain proportion of oxygen — their peculiarity 
being that the element must be supplied in very small quan- 
tity, and very gradually : not one of them can exist in a 
medium from which oxygen is entirely absent. So that the 
whole question of the relationship between bacteria and oxygen 
resolves itself into one of dosage. It is both interestino- and 
practically important to remember that the majority of the 
pathogenic bacteria which cause serious mischief* in surgical 
lesions are of the anaerobic variety ; and their incapability of 
existing in presence of a liberal supply of oxygen accounts for 
the remarkable antiseptic results often obtained from free-air 
dressing — after surgical operations, and in cases of wounds 
otherwise inflicted — and which were at one time used as a 
strong argument against the germ theory of disease. 

The active mobility of the majority of bacteria has already 
been noticed, and it is really very curious to observe the 
definiteness of purpose with which some of the movements are 
performed. An aerobic bacterium placed under the microscope 
will be seen to travel in the direction of an imprisoned globule 
of air in the fluid in which it has been mounted. The an- 
aerobic specimen takes corresponding care of his welfare by 
studiously avoiding the vicinity of the same bubble. They 
■are similarly attracted or repelled by light, as it happens to be 
useful or hurtful to the economy, and they are always very 
sensitive to its influence. A fact of additional interest in this 
connection is that bacteria are more highly influenced by the 
solar rays as we pass towards the violet end of the spectrum. 

The action of extremes of temperature on bacteria is also 
very pronounced ; most of the pathogenic forms are destroyed 
by exposure to a temperature of 100° C. for a moderate period 
of time ; but as the spores resist the influence of heat better 
than do the adult forms, it is well, in order to insure the 
complete destruction of a colony, to expose it for some time to 



1888.] . A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 173 

a temperature of 140° C. ; or, safer still, 1 50° C. The)' are 
muck less surely affected by cold ; most can be frozen to death 
by using powerful refrigerating mixtures; but as one well- 
known mischievous bacillus has been found to survive a 
temperature of — 130° C, it is obvious that this mode of de- 
struction cannot well be relied on. 

The reproduction of the bacterium by the simple method of 
segmentation exactly corresponds to that which has already 
been alluded to in case of the amoeba, and compared to the very 
similar process which occurs in the ovum ; other methods of 
multiplication are by gemmation, and by spot 'illation. The 
process of segmentation is mostly characteristic of the rod- 
shaped forms — straight, wavy, or spiral as the case may be ; 
the reproduction by gemmation, of the rounded species ; while 
the phenomenon of spore-formation is seen in both, but much 
more frequently among the rods. 

In gemmation, a bud forms at some point of the surface of 
the parent-cell — sometimes two, one at either end of a dia- 
meter ; it grows till it acquires a bulk of about a third of that 
of its progenitor, when it drops off and assumes an independent 
mode of existence, usually growing to the size of its parent in 
a very short time. 

The process of spore-formation, although more frequently 
observed among the bacilli, seldom occurs even among the 
latter except when the specimen is suffering from failing 
health or deficient supply of nutrition. Accordingly, it can 
be brought about artificially, with great ease, by exposing a 
previously vigorous bacillus to the unfriendly influence of too 
high a temperature or too strong a light. The actively 
moving rod becomes immobile, its protoplasm swells — either 
in a small portion of its length or throughout the whole— any 
granulations which it presented disappear, its refractive power 
increases, and a clear — oval or spheroidal — body forms, with 
dark contour — the latter by-and-by breaking clown, and 
setting the spore at liberty. The process aj)pears to be a 
mode of self-preservation afforded by nature to the species. 
The spore, at all periods of its existence, resists the influences 
of heat, cold, light, desiccation, and even the action of powerful 
antiseptic agents, in a way that the parent rod could never 
have done. Buchner has reported the gemmation of spores 
which had spent a whole day immersed in strong sulphuric 



174 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

acid ! When the spores are set free in a favourable medium, 
they soon develop the characteristic features of the parent 
cell. 

The extraordinary conservatism marked in the life history 
of successive generations of bacteria has been curiously ex- 
emplified in the report that a specimen has been found in the 
dental tartar of an Egyptian mummy, which proved absolutely 
identical with the variety that is familiarly known to occur 
in a similar position at the present day. It has been calculated 
that, in the direct line of descent, over twenty-six millions of 
bacterial generations have come and gone within that interval : 
still the laws of evolution have never affected the primitive 
form ! 

With these leading features to characterise them, the 
bacteria live and have their being ; they increase, and multiply, 
and replenish the earth; and endeavour, to the best of their 
abilities, to subdue it. It must not, however, be supposed 
from what has been said that all forms of bacteria are equally 
prejudicial to animal life; on the contrary, some are man's 
most constant and most active friends. The Bacillus amylobader 
is a necessary auxiliary to the natural digestive fluids of the 
human alimentary canal. Many other bacteria appear to 
exercise no specially baneful influence on the animal organism. 
The features of special importance, however, in connection with 
their appearance in the fluids and tissues of the human body, 
are : their extraordinarily rapid rate of reproduction, and the 
fact that the materials for their nutrition must be drawn 
directly from the immediate neighbourhood, while the pro- 
ducts of their excretion are necessarily washed into the fluid 
by which they are bathed. They borrow their means of 
livelihood from their host, without at all consulting his wishes 
on the subject ; and, with the same want of sympathetic feeling, 
they pass on their sewerage into the circulation, on the purity 
of which his health and vigour depend. The two factors 
cannot, evidently, be separated in the mischievous result ; we 
can only see the general effect. The principal excrementitious 
products whose existence is traceable to the action of bacteria, 
are now well-known under the name of ptomaines. They 
possess both chemical composition and poisonous properties 
very similar to those of well-known vegetable alkaloids : and 
the specific connection between a particular bacterium and the 



1888.] A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 175 

ptomaine which it manufactures during its existence in the 
animal tissues has in a good many cases been definitely traced, 
and such production of a special alkaloid by a special micro- 
organism very probably takes place in the case of every patho- 
genic microbe. Many observers who will not allow that bacteria 
are the real producers of disease, admit that the symptoms of 
the latter are due to ptomaine poisoning, but the distinction, 
as already pointed out, is a very puerile one indeed. 

In order to demonstrate that a disease is of bacterial origin, 
it is absolutely necessary, as laid down by Professor Koch, 
that the following four conditions should be forthcoming : — 

(1.) The same bacterium must be present in the tissues or 
fluids of every individual affected with the disease ; 

(2.) The bacterium must be isolated and pure cultures 
obtained ; 

(3.) The disease must be reproduced in healthy individuals 
by inoculation from these pure cultures ; 

(4.) The same species of bacterium must be discoverable 
in the tissues or fluids of the individual so affected by inocula- 
tion, and in parts situated at a distance from the seat of the 
inoculation. 

As a matter of fact, these four conditions have up to the 
present been fulfilled in but a very limited number of cases ; 
and it is obviously impossible to apply this cycle of investiga- 
tion, in its complete form, to all important varieties of disease 
affecting the human body ; but those in which it has been 
found possible or desirable to complete the stages above 
indicated have given satisfactory responses ; and more espe- 
cially among the lower animals, where the methods of scientific 
research are not restricted in the same way. 

Such are the relationships now established — between the 
harmful species of bacteria and the morbid phenomena of 
animal life. The human form is obliged to maintain its 
existence in the midst of microscopic enemies belonging to 
the lowest forms of vegetable life, which are always ready to 
avail themselves of any mode of entrance to its interior ; where 
their presence is surely accompanied by a direct attack on its 
well-being. Each time that a colony of bacteria obtains a 
settlement within the human organism, it will be obviously 
understood (from what has already been said) that traces of their 
passage will be left, both in the way of subtraction of some 



176 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATOBIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

of its principles, and by the deposit of new material ; and these 
effects will be more pronounced in proportion to their number, 
and the length of their period of sojourn. They leave the 
conditions of life in a modified state. It is in this way that 
vaccination, and other modes of inoculation, protect the 
individual affected. It will also be obvious that such pro- 
tection is likely to become modified by time; as it is very 
unlikely that all the tissues and fluids of the organism will be 
in any case so completely altered by the results of a single 
inoculation, that the effects of the latter may not disappear in 
the course of a considerable span of the life history of an 
individual so operated on. 

The resistance of the tissues of the animal organism to the 
action of the invading bacteria, varies greatly, of course, with 
the hereditary or acquired constitution of the individual. 
During the period of every such invasion, a direct struggle for 
existence goes on between the army of intruding vegetable cells 
on one side, and the not entirely dissimilar cells which build 
up the animal tissues on the other. The resisting powers of 
the latter must be a very uncertain factor indeed ; considering 
the enormous range between the extremes of nutritive activity 
and general physical vigour, which we every day see around 
us in the various specimens of the human frame with which 
we are familiar. The lodgment of a colony of bacteria is in 
itself an unavoidable cause of a rapid increase of the local 
chemical changes which are always going on in the tissues. 
This is necessarily accompanied by increase of temperature, 
as animal heat is the result of the molecular work of the 
assimilation and disassimilation which are continually going 
on in the tissues of the body. But this increased evolution 
of heat is rapidly emphasised to a much greater degree when 
the entrance into the circulation of the toxic products manu- 
factured by the bacteria is followed by the inevitable con- 
sequence of derangement of the heat-regulating mechanism of 
the nerve centres. 

So far as we can see in the light of our present knowledge^ 
there is great reason to believe that what defence is made by 
the animal tissues in resisting the incursions of the aggressive 
bacteria, is chiefly entrusted to a special variety of cells, which, 
in this connection, it has now become fashionable to call 
phagocytes. Some larger cells found in the spleen, thyroid 




DIFFERENT WAYS OF GARDENING AT FORT BODO. 



1388.] A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. Ill 

body, connective tissues, and on certain epithelial surfaces 
have been credited with this function, but the principal 
members of the sanitary garrison appear to be the leucocytes 
(colourless blood-corpuscles). Wherever a breach of con- 
tinuity of the surface has taken place, these cells are always 
found to rush to the front in large numbers ; and a hand-to- 
hand battle for life or death takes place between the two 
armies of cellular organisms. The only mode of attack known 
to the leucocyte is the primitive one, which it employs just as 
does its distant cousin the amoeba, of directly swallowing up 
its opponent. If it succeeds in effecting this purpose, the career 
of the bacterium ends there and then: it is rapidly digested, 
and, of course, completely wiped out of existence. The one 
effective weapon of the bacterium, on the other hand, appears 
to be the poisonous alkaloid which it secretes ; or, to the 
formation of which, at least, in the tissues of its host its pre- 
sence always gives rise. This so-called ptomaine appears to 
have the power of breaking up the leucocytes; and, probably, 
others of the animal cells in the neighbourhood as well. If 
the advance guard of leucocytes is sufficiently numerous and 
sufficiently strong (individually) to swallow up the incursive 
bacteria, no constitutional mischief results ; if, on the other 
hand, the bacteria have the best of the first battle, further 
complications must necessarily follow. If the latter have a 
" walk over," the phenomena of acute, perhaps fatal, disease 
follow ; if the forces are pretty evenly balanced, and other 
■circumstances not tending to favour the victory of either 
•contending party, indefinite chronicity is the result. 

A Avorcl must here be said on the subject of the most 
interesting of all the recent practical applications of our 
knowledge of bacteriology — the "attenuation of the virus." 
It has for a considerable time been known that when a 
•colony of bacteria has for some little while been subjected to 
•conditions nearly fatal to the existence of its individuals, the 
latter (and their descendants) lose so much of their virulence 
as to render their inoculation comparatively harmless ; also, 
that when allowed to develop freely under exceptionally 
favourable circumstances, their malignant properties may be 
magnified to an almost indefinite degree. Professor Toussaint 
<was the first to observe a modifying action of this kind. He 
found that after heating the blood of an animal affected 

N 



178 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

with cliarbon to a temperature of 55° C, its subsequent intro- 
duction into the blood or tissues of a healthy animal was 
followed by comparatively trivial results, which passed off in 
a short time : but which had, nevertheless, the effect of 
rendering the inoculated animal indifferent to the effects of 
subsequent doses of large quantities of the bacteria in a 
thoroughly vigorous condition. A similar result was obtained 
by treating the infected blood with a solution of carbolic acid, 
not strong enough to destroy the existence of the bacteria, 
but merely to impair their vitality. Acting upon this dis- 
covery, Professor Toussaint established the practical results 
of protective inoculation. Any other agent which may be 
employed in such a way as to bring the bacterium to the verge 
of destruction, without absolutely destroying its vitality, may 
be employed in a similar way for the preparation of an 
attenuated virus. The virulence of some bacteria is lowered 
to the requisite standard by simply allowing the colony to 
grow old without any other interference. M. Pasteur has 
obtained analogous results, by repeated cultures of colonies of 
the same bacterial virus on different media ; through which he 
has succeeded in modifying its properties to almost any degree 
that he may desire : inoculation with these artificially trained 
specimens still afford the desired protective power. The 
apjDlications of these discoveries within recent years are familiar 
to educated people in all civilised countries. 

Such are the more notable features in the family history 
of the all-pervading bacterium, and of its relationship to its 
struggling human fellow-creatures. The fact has been empha- 
sised that bacteria are not in all instances unfriendly to man ; 
but that, on the contrary, some species are among his most 
important allies in the physiological struggle for existence. 
Their somewhat mysterious movements have been referred to, 
the mechanism of which in many cases is by no means very 
clear ; although in the rod-shaped forms at least, they appear 
to be due to the action of a vibratile cilium of excessive 
delicacy. Various as are the forms of bacteria, some observers 
of very high authority, including Nageli and Billroth, profess 
to believe that they are all really members of a single species, 
and are all derived from the same form of cocco-bacterium. 
We have referred to the translucency of the average bacterium, 
but this feature is not a universal one : some few varieties 



1888.] A STUDY OF BACTERIOLOGY. 179 

are richly coloured. The peculiar green, yellow, blue, &c, 
tints which different specimens of pus sometimes present, are 
all — as well as the more familiar yellow — due in each case to 
a special form of coloured microbe. Milk is sometimes seen to 
change its colour gradually to a deep blue, or to a deep red, from 
analogous causes. The phosphorescence of fish is due to the 
presence of Microccus phosphoreus, and the ready growth of the 
deeply scarlet-coloured Microccocus prodigiosus on amylaceous 
matters — previously cooked, and then placed in a moist and 
bacteria-laden atmosphere — is now known to have formed one 
of the most important factors in the spread of mediaeval 
theology, and to have been the central phenomenon round which 
ecclesiastical wars, persecutions, and anathemas raged for many 
centuries. 

And so the bacteria live their humble lives ; performing, in 
their struggle for existence, manifold functions : sometimes of 
the greatest usefulness, sometimes of the most pernicious 
tendency. The reading world has heard, perhaps, everything 
about the latter ; let us not, however, by a one-sided view, 
entirely lose sight of the former. We now know that these 
primitive creatures plough and harrow the soil of organic 
material, from which each successive crop of animated beings 
is raised up to supply the place of their deceased ancestors. 
And, above all, let us not be carried away so far in the 
(hitherto) unsatisfactory effort to accomplish their destruction 
in the animal body, as to lose sight of the use of the rational 
methods ready to hand of combating the various diseases 
which are characterised by — whether or not they are absolutely 
due to — their presence in the tissues and fluids of the human 
organism.] 

Jan. 3. — I have just discovered that my servant has stolen 
two bottles full of most important medicines (Dover's powder 
and ipecacuanha) ; also two spoons, and fifty rounds of ammu- 
nition. I have threatened to shoot him if he does not tell 
me where the medicine has gone ; he has sold the bottles to the 
Manyuema in the next tent. 

Ismailia returned to-clay with some of Kilonga Longa's men. 
Kilonga Longa sent us his " salaams," and is expected here in 
four or five clays. 

Both Nelson and myself are piebald all over our bodies, 
from the results of scratchings and ulcerations. We quite 

N 2 



180 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

appreciate the tormenting efficacy of the third plague of 
Egypt : our ulcers are in great measure the result of mal- 
nutrition. 

We purchased a good chicken last night, with a pair of Emin 
Pasha's drawers. It is somewhat peculiar, we have thought, 
that we can never get a fresh egg, although on the testimony 
of these people the eggs they give us are always "just laid." 
The only logical conclusion we can deduce from this evidence 
is, that the hens in the heart of Africa do not lay fresh eggs I 

Jan. 4. — We are both much better. We observe (1) that 
we are not nearly so irritable ; and (2) that creeping things 
can race all over us in every direction without making us at 
all uncomfortable. My boy, Sherif, has not yet returned. He 
ran away : because,, in the first place, he knew that I had 
evidence of his stealing the medicines and selling the bottles ; 
and, in the second place, I believe he really thought that I 
would shoot him. 

Ismailia was asked for food to-day ; but " had none." An 
hour or two afterwards he offered to sell us some for a rifle. 
We have now been turned out of our hut, and six slaves have 
replaced us. This is a place I could conscientiously re- 
commend as a missionary station ; missionaries necessarily 
select remote and unenlightened places, and I will confidently 
promise that they need expect no earthly reward for their 
presence and their labours here, beyond that satisfaction and 
contentment of soul which an abnegation of self to the dictates 
of duty and conscience must and will always confer on the 
virtuous man. 

Jan. 5. — I find that my boy is now working for Khamisi. I 
told him to bring him back to me. Possibly, indeed, it is he 
who induced him to leaye me, as he is strong and able to work. 
Ismailia said to my messenger this morning that there was no 
food ; and, in one hour afterwards, he sent up meal to sell for a 
spoon. Unfortunately, I had sold my only two. He brought 
up a rifle, which had been given him by Mr. Stanley 
(Xo. 310); it was broken, and he modestly asked for a good 
one instead, but did not get it. 

Jan. 6. — We have decided to kill our goat to-morrow. 
Both of us spent the day in bed with fever, and we have 
now" recommended each other meat. 

Jan. 7. — Sangarameni brought us one cupful of rice — this, 



1888.] KILONGA LOSGA'S ARRIVAL. 181 

with goat's liver and kidneys, gave us an excellent breakfast. 
This man has certainly more of the milk of human kindness 
in his composition than any of the others. We have arranged 
with Khamisi to build us a house for our boys, and also a 
boma. We are to give him a rifle and seventy rounds of 
ammunition for his trouble. It will be necessary to keep out 
Kilonga Longa's rabble when they arrive. 

Jan. 8. — Two men came into the village to-day, and reported 
Kilonga Longa close at hand. 

Jan. 9. — Kilonga Longa's long-expected arrival occurred at 
one o'clock to-day. A great display : the advent was cele- 
brated by the blowing of war-horns, firing of guns and rifles, 
beating of drums — and other discordant noises of various 
kinds, singing, and playing of stringed instruments. He was 
accompanied by about 250 persons — men, women and children. 
The remainder of his column is due to-morrow. They all look 
starved, and in wretched condition ; they say that they have 
had very little food to live on during the past seven months,, 
many of the force having died of inanition. 

Kilonga Longa is a small wiry man ; he has an extremely 
bright, intelligent look in his eyes. He and the immediate 
members of his staff are to be banqueted to-night. Umari 
(chief) and nine Zanzibaris, who were left with Nelson, and 
who had been away foraging when Jephson's relief party came 
to the rescue, also arrived with Kilonga Longa, who had 
picked them up, in a starving condition, on the way ; they had 
been crawling helplessly about in the bush. 

Jan. 10. — All the returned Zanzibaris came last night and 
visited Nelson and myself ; wo were, of course, confined to our 
beds. Poor creatures ! they are awful looking skeletons, surely. 
What a fearful amount of misery and privation was testiHed to 
by each bony figure. Nelson and myself both noticed how 
carefully they seemed to " take stock " of everything in the 
tents. We rose, took their rifles, and stacked them in my 
tent. 

During the night there was a great fantasia, with much 
music and singing. About 2 a.m., while it was still pitch 
dark, I was awakened from my sleep by a noise — made, as I 
thought, by a rat scraping at the wall of my tent. Whenever 
I moved, the ammunition boxes, on which I was lying 
creaked, and the noise then ceased for a little ; but it re- 



182 EXPERIEXCES IX EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

commenced again and again. Owing to the darkness, I could 
see nothing ; but I began to suspect the visit of a nocturnal 
thief, and my mind forcibly recalled the careful way in which 
the Zanzibaris had used their eyes when visiting in my tent 
in the evening. Acting on this thought, I got quickly out of 
bed, opened the door cautiously, and crept around to the back 
of my tent, with the nearest approach to feline movement 
that I could assume. When I had got to the point opposite 
the position of my bed, I jumped to the spot where the thief 
must be lving — if thief there was. I rolled over a cold and 
slimy mass, of human bones covered by integument ; which 
turned out, on identification, to be one of the Zanzibaris who 
had just returned ; his name is Hontgoinery Kamaroni. He 
was just in the act of stealing a rifle, which he had almost 
removed through a hole, of a foot in length, that he had 
cut in the wall of my tent. I seized him, and flung his knife 
away for some distance — I recovered it this morning, and still 
have it in my possession. TVith some difficulty, I dragged 
him round to the front of my tent, and called out to Nelson 
that I had caught a thief. Xelson came out as quickly as he 
could and called our boys, who brought a lighted stick, and 
we immediately recognised Kamaroni. As we stood over him, 
with our fingers on our revolvers, we came to the conclusion 
that discretion was the better part of valour. Our first 
impression was that the proper treatment was to shoot him 
forthwith ; but the fact that, being a Zanzibari, he was a 
compatriot of Kilonga Longa's might well make us pause. 
The latter, although not, perhaps, very warmly affected 
towards poor Kamaroni, might nevertheless be sufficiently 
irritated by the quasi-judicial death of a countryman of his, to 
determine his future choice between the alternative of giving 
us a little food, and giving us none at all. As we were 
absolutely in the power of this worthy, we decided to do 
nothing rash for the moment. So we tied Kamaroni to a tree 
for the night. In the morning we held a sliauri on the subject 
with his chief Umari, and we granted a reprieve, and com- 
muted the sentence into one of a light flogging. 

The remainder of Kilonga Longa's expedition has now 
turned up— they make about 400 in all. Umari is now 
messing with us, and he tells us that Ismailia has been 
persuading Kilonga Longa that the white men — Xelson and 




15 13 

CUKIOS ON LEOPAKD SKIN. 



1. Mazamboni's spear-head. 

2. Shoes made by Emin's people. 

3. Fishing spear-head from Aruwimi. 

4. Knife used by Camaroni, vide p. 182. 

5. Spear-head from Ankori. 

6. Pigmy ivory bangle. 

7. Ivory bangle worn by Kavalli's people. 

8. Knife which killed Feruzi Ali, vide page 119. 



9. Throwing-knife found at Tanga, Aug. 1887. 

10. Clay pipe made near Albert Nyanza. 

11. Manyuema spear-head. 

12. " Chino" or wooileQ mortar. 

13. Tobacco from Ankori. 

14. Ball of hair found in the stomach of a cow 
in Karagwe. 

15. Forest ivory war-horns. 



1888.] KILONGA LONG A' S VISIT. 183 

myself — are bad, and the Zanzibaris no better, and that we 
ought not to get any food. This is the same chief who, on the 
26th of October last, promised Mr. Stanley in my presence, 
that we should be provisioned, and our men all cared for ! Mr. 
Stanley certainly believed in him, for he told me that " he had 
a big heart." 

Kilonga Longa found four of Mr. Stanley's Kemington 
rifles in the bush — belonging to men who had died of starva- 
tion — all of which he retains as his private property. At 
4 p.m. he paid us a state visit, accompanied by all his chiefs. 

Jan. 11. — I have been called to give professional advice to 
some invalids among Kilonga Longa's people ; I found them 
all in a wretchedly emaciated condition. One of them was a 
woman who had just had a miscarriage, and carried the foetus 
to me wrapped up in a banana leaf. The Manyuema adults 
are all of a very dark brown colour ; but their babies, for a 
month or two after birth, are of a pinkish white. 

Jan. 12. — I arranged with the chief Khamisi to allow those 
Zanzibaris who have lately arrived to work for their food, on 
the same terms as the others — as settled by Mr. Stanley before 
his departure. Kilonga Longa paid us a visit, accompanied 
by some of his chiefs. He wore a small sword, suspended from 
his shoulder. It is customary with the Arabs for all people of 
importance to wear side-arms. I have to take a back seat in 
regard to this demonstration, as one of my carriers, Kehani, 
deserted with my entire kit — including my sword — on the 
11th of October last. Nelson presented K. L. with an 
Express rifle which cost £45. I followed up this with a 
donation of an ink-bottle. We accordingly thought it would be 
a favourable opportunity to discuss the provision question. So 
we had the written agreement (English), between Mr. Stanley 
and the three chiefs, translated to him by Umari. There was, 
however, no one who could translate the Arabic document; 
and each of the three chiefs gave a different version of the 
original compact. Kilonga Longa said that he had known 
Mr. Stanley on the Congo ; he had got bales of cloth from 
Abed Bin Salim in Manyuema years ago. Also, that, at Stanley 
Ealls, he had himself given Mr. Stanley thirty tusks of ivory, 
for which the latter sent him guns, powder, and cooking-pots. 
He then turned to Nelson and asked him — " Do you think 
Mr. Stanley a good man?" Nelson's reply was very diplo- 



184 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AERICA. [1888. 

raatic. "If Isrnailia, your subordinate, were asked what he 
thought of you, what would you expect him to say ? " This- 
way of answering the question almost made me suspect that 
Nelson must have some Hibernian blood in his veins. It is- 
quite clear to us that Isrnailia has been using his best wits to 
induce K. L. to continue to starve us, so that we may sell the- 
ammunition and rifles ; which would be fatal to our Expedition. 
There was some further conversation, but very little that was- 
definite, on the main point at issue ; we are now soothing our- 
selves only with the hope that the presents we have given 
will move him to treat us generously in the way of food. 

Jan. 13. — Kilonga Longa sent off a large suffari to-day 
to forage for food and ivory. He sent us enough rice for two 
days — for ourselves, our two boys, and Umari. We are bound 
to look after Umari, as he was very kind to Nelson in the 
dismal " starvation camp," and now the poor man is prostrate 
from fever and inanition. We also got a fowl, some salt 
(which we thoroughly enjoyed, for we had not tasted any for 
several months), and some spices to make curry with. (The 
only European eatable or drinkable which we have had for 
some time is tea). 

I have had another relapse of my erysipelas. Curiously 
enough, whenever I get the least attack of fever the erysipelas 
returns ; and before I feel any symptom whatever of the fever, 
a livid pinkish blush appears all over the upper part of the 
right thigh. 

Jan. 14. — Nelson is ill again to-day. This time it is gastric 
irritation, complicated with some rheumatism, which is an old 
enemy of his, and often attacks him very severely, quite 
doubling him up during the acute stage. 

Last night we were both driven into a state of temporary 
insanity by the itching. I think the detestable symptom 
must have been due to some electrical change in the atmo- 
sphere, for I felt my hair stand on end all over my body ; 
and could barely allow anything to touch my skin, I was so 
excessively sensitive and irritable all over the whole cutaneous- 
surface. There was a little rain, and, whenever rain does fall, 
the surface of the ground about the settlement immediately 
afterwards is simply a seething mass of maggots and other 
low forms of animal life. Before the rain, nothing is seen on 
the surface of the dry ground, excepting layers of vegetable 



1888.] SCARCITY OF FOOD. 185 

rubbish and faecal debris; but immediately after rain, every 
particle of filth seems to become endowed with life. These 
detestable white maggots jump so high that, unless one's 
boots are well laced up, and tied above, they manage to drop 
in between the stocking and boot. 

All the Manyuema are hard at work, clearing the ground to 
make gardens ; even the little children are out. They advance 
in line with their native bill-hooks (mundus), and chop down 
all the undergrowth of shrubs, &c. ; this they collect in heaps. 
They then hoe up the ground; and plant rice, and Indian 
corn. 

It was really prudent to have sent out so large a suffari 
yesterday, as food is becoming extremely scarce here now. 

New moon to-night. 

Jan. 15. — Some of the people went to work at their gardens ; 
others went on with the building of houses; but a certain 
section of superstitious individuals won't do any work for the 
present, because it is new moon. These auspicious individuals 
tie rags, which have been made holy by some mysterious 
process of dowah (medicine), around their limbs, for luck. The 
weather is now very wet ; and I feel very much the want of a 
second shirt and coat when I am thoroughly drenched, as I 
am obliged to allow my clothes to dry on my back ; or go 
naked while I dry them some other way. 

Good-nature seems to be an extremely rare commodity 
among our Zanzibari friends and Manyuema neighbours. A 
poor wretch named Tofik arrived (in the condition of a skeleton) 
in our camp to-day, having followed up the track of Kilonga 
Longa's caravan. He was famished, yet none of his Zanzibari 
comrades would allow him near a fire or into their huts. This 
man, be it remembered, had given them a shoulder of goat but 
a day or two ago. There really is, however, a plausible ex- 
planation (if not excuse) for the absence of good Samaritanism 
among these people under the circumstances, as the poor 
creatures who become so reduced by starvation smell terribly ; 
the colour of the skin becomes an ashen grey, the hair stands 
on end all over the body, and the skin over every prominence 
ulcerates, so that the bones actually appear through. It is a 
deplorable sight. It would now be difficult to find a single 
Zanzibari who has not a gangrenous ulcer on each hip, and 
another on the back (over the sacrum) — which have been pro- 



186 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

tluced by the pressure of lying on these prominences. Poor 
Nelson is in as bad condition as the worst of them. 

We are plagued with minute ticks, which bury themselves 
in the skin, and have actually to be dug out with the point of 
a knife. They cause intense irritation. 

My donkey, poor beast, is always getting intermittent fever. 
His rectal temperature yesterday was 106° F. He always 
prefers to lie on the top of heaps of refuse, and he lives 
mainly on excrement, which he collects around the village ; 
he usually reposes where filth is most abundant. 

Jan. 16. — To-day we received a visit from Kilonga Longa. 
Nelson did the interviewing, as I was away paying a profes- 
sional visit. He afterwards sent us three cups of rice. We 
have now introduced a new scheme of diet : we live on two 
meals a day. In the morning, one cup of rice, made into rice- 
gruel, has to suffice for Uinari, Nelson, and myself. Our boys 
have now to live wholly and solely on mboga, this simply 
means that they live by grazing. It is really extraordinary 
that they stick to us under the circumstances, they could 
do so much better (physically) for themselves by going over 
to the Manyuema, who would give them a couple of heads 
of corn a day for their work. 

Jan. 17. — We had our cup of rice gruel (between three of 
us) for breakfast. Luncheon consisted of two corns each. 
Dinner : one cup of rice, and some magotty meat. We have 
negotiated for the exchange of a rifle. We receive 400 mohindi 
(heads of Indian corn) for it, and five cups of beans into the 
bargain. Kilonga Longa and all his chiefs have absolutely 
refused to give us any food at any other price. 

Jan. 18. — Nelson sold a rifle to-day, for 4 J fathoms of very 
inferior calico ; as he had hardly anything to cover him but 
one blanket. We now ration ourselves on two heads of mohindi 
three times a day, with mboga. Ismailia made a furious com- 
plaint that my donkey had eaten some of his corn. I begged 
off the poor animal's life by laboursome petition ; the unhappy 
quadruped has now nothing on his bones to eat ; otherwise 
my humanity might not have been so energetically applied. 
So I am now obliged to hire a boy, at three heads of corn 
per diem, to take care of him, and prevent his trespassing ; 
otherwise he will surely be killed by these heartless barbarians. 

The Manyuema men wear wooden blocks for sandals ; these 



1888.] ARMY CORPS OF ANTS. 187 

have a projecting piece sticking up between the great toe and 
the second, so as to give it some steadiness. The fashion 
appears to be an Arab one. 

Jan. 19. — On questioning the men who had accompanied 
Kilonga Longa, I learned from them that the natives of the 
forest are all cannibals; they are, however, ashamed of the 
practice, and would not eat human flesh in their presence. 

Nelson took his first walk to-day. I am still unable to 
walk any distance. I tried a short effort of this kind on the 
day before yesterday, but the exertion was followed by a 
fourth relapse of my erysipelas. The Spring season is now 
in full progress here; every plant appears to be budding, 
and growing up with great rapidity. Spring commences in 
December. 

A column of ants, of about four inches in width, and densely 
marshalled, has now been continuously passing through my 
tent for nearly twenty-four hours. So the length appears to 
be unlimited. I received a chicken and three cups of rice 
to-day from Kilonga Longa, for professional attendance, only a 
successful accouchement. 

Jan. 20. — Very heavy rain to-day. There is a Manyuema 
doctor here w 7 ith Kilonga Longa. His most important specific 
appears to consist in building a small house (like a hen's 
house), conical in shape, near the dwelling of any person who 
is starting off on an ivory expedition ; this secures the safe 
return of the individual concerned. Each caravan is accom- 
panied by women, who carry baskets with food, &c. These 
baskets are borne on the back, and suspended from the fore- 
head — not carried on the head, as our Zanzibaris convey their 
burdens. The carriers do not, like our porters, cut their way 
through the bush ; but trail along the native tracks, stooping 
under the low natural archways which the branches of the 
undergrowth form across the path. 

The medicine-man, in treating the sick, prepares drugs 
from herbs ; and makes white and red streaks, with coloured 
substances, on the surface of the body. The natives have 
great faith in his treatment; he is greatly respected and 
looked up to, and holds a very prominent position. There 
is also a man on K. L.'s staff whose sole employment is to 
repair guns. Another makes knives — with ivory handles. A 
large tusk of ivory (sixty lbs.) can be bought here from the 



188 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

natives for a small iron ring. Every man who lias any 
special accomplishment, such as those referred to, is called in 
Kiawahili a " Fundi." 

Jan. 21. — Kilonga Longa visited us to-day ; he said that 
the Zanzibaris had come to him in a body to ask for food. 
The poor creatures are, of course, anxious, as so many of their 
comrades have already died. He came to tell us that he 
could give them no more food whatever. Some of the 
Zanzibaris offered themselves as slaves ; and we consented 
to this arrangement, provided they were fed for their labour 
till such time as we required them. This would not be agreed 
to. Accordingly, we can do nothing, as we were left here on 
the understanding that ourselves and our Zanzibaris were to 
be fed ; and now we get little or nothing, so that we have 
had to sell the rifles of the Expedition, with the pious hope 
that we will be able to pay for them some day. Prices are 
now so exorbitant, that if we were to sell all the remaining 
rifles, it would give the Zanzibaris and ourselves but a few 
square meals. We even suggested to Kilonga Longa and 
his crew that our men might be sent to the friendly Washenzi 
to be fed ; but the cautious chiefs said, " No ; they might 
grow fat and strong, and then Mr. Stanley would return 
and take them away." It is sickening to the last degree to 
observe the diplomacy of these heartless wretches ; it is heart- 
rending to us to see these poor creatures, who have done so 
much hard work for us, now staggering about as skeletons, 
while it is utterly out of our power to do anything for them. 

The boy who watched my donkey has gone. 

Jan. 22. — Kambola, an under-chief, came in to-day with 
loot; including some ivory. Umari, our interpreter, is very 
ill with acute rheumatism. I have recently learned that the 
Manyuema practise a primitive form of massage (as indeed do 
the Zanzibaris). They place the patient on the ground and 
stand on his loins, then pull, rub, and squeeze his limbs and 
trunk. 

We arranged with a chief to build a small hut for our boys 
and Umari, who at present reside in the open. The hut is 
to be close to our tents, and he is to enclose the whole with 
a boma : all this to be done for a single rifle. I thought 
this rather a good bargain, as bargains go here. 

It may appear strange that we two, our three boys, and 



1888.] CANNIBALISM. 189 

Uinari, cannot do all this ourselves ; but it is quite impossible, 
as it takes the constant attention of a couple of individuals 
to watch the tents and keep off the thieves. Besides, we are 
all skeletons ; neither Nelson nor myself can walk more than 
a few yards at a stretch. 

Jan. 23. — We are in a bad way for food. The chiefs seem 
to think that we have no stomachs. The picture cards from a 
"pack" or two, which I brought with me, got us many a 
meal while they lasted ; but now the entire packs have been 
expended. 

Jan. 24. — I was called out of bed last night to see the young 
goat, as it was bleating very much. I found it staggering 
about, and apparently in great pain. It died in ten minutes 
from the appearance of its first symptoms. It may have been 
stung by some poisonous reptile, or have eaten some j)oisonous 
herb. However, the Manyuema ate it, and I made no attempt 
to prevent them. 

We will be obliged to eat our only milch-goat, the attend- 
ance of the kid being necessary to keep up the secretion of 
milk. It is the practice here to let the kid always run with 
the dam. 

Last night, one of the slaves went to the river to draw 
water — a distance of about two hundred yards from the village. 
He was set on by his comrades on the way, and killed and 
eaten there and then. Food now seems to be really scarce, 
indeed ! 

The people are now existing, in a great measure, on banana 
and plantain root, which is very stringy and tasteless. The 
river, from which we draw our drinking water, is polluted with 
excrement ; which is swept down by the torrents of rain. 
These people ape the Arab customs in every way. They 
wash their bodies periodically in the stream, and soil it with 
every imaginable variety of filth. They are disgustingly 
dirty in their habits ; they squat down — men and women 
together — and act up to their belief that the calls of nature 
have a prior claim to those of decency. Our poor Zanzibaris 
are much more cleanly in their habits. I do wish the poor 
wretches could be made a little more comfortable than they 
now are. 



190 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 



CHAPTER X. 

FEOM FOKT BODO TO THE ALBERT NYANZA. 

Welcome relief "by Lieutenant Stairs from our miserable existence at Ipoto — 
We part from Kilonga Longa and the Manyuerna on the best terms — 
Incidents of the march to Fort Bodo — Scenery viewed from Kilimani — 
Kelson still very weak — Our reception by Mr. Stanley — Description of 
Fort Bodo — The men are employed road making — Arrival of the 
Advance — Stairs proceeds to Ugarrowwa's station to bring up the 
invalids — Mr. Stanley is taken very ill with sub-acute gastritis, en- 
grossing all my attention — The castor oil tree — Method of preparing 
castor oil by the natives and Zanzibaris — My method of preparing the 
same — Progress of my patient — Seven Zanzibaris come in from Ipoto — 
Mr. Stanley continues to improve — List of nutritive medical comforts 
carried with us from Yambuya — We leave Fort Bodo en route for the 
Albert Nyanza, while Nelson and the invalids are left behind — My 
experiences of ulcers during the march through the equatorial forest — 
Hostile attitude of the natives — Ferrying the column across the Ituri 
Biver — Emerging from the forest, thus ending my twelve months of 
forest existence — Native tobacco— Fetteh, our interpreter, wounded — 
The natives attack us — Their way of passing the alarm from village to 
village — Peace arranged — First news of Emin Pasha or Malleju — Visit 
from Mazamboni, the chief of the district — Jephson goes through the rite 
of " blood brotherhood " with Mazamboni — We are mistaken for 
Wara-Sura, so explaining our hostile reception by the natives. 

Jan. 25. — Kilonga Longa came up to me this morning 
(8.30 a.m.) with a broken Winchester rifle, which he asked me 
to repair. Of course I made a show of overhauling it, and 
trying what I could in the way of mending the damaged 
article. At 11 a.m. as he was sitting by my tent, he suddenly 
started up, and said that a suffari (caravan) was coming. After 
a few minutes, Ismailia came and said that his sentries had 
come in, and told him that a white man was coming — many 
shots were fired off, and a drum was beaten, to hail the 
advent of the stranger. We could scarcely speak for joy, as we 
anticipated some relief from our dreary existence of imprison- 
ment and starvation. After a few minutes more, Stairs 
appeared, leading a column of the finest-looking, fat, muscular, 
glossy-skinned men I ever saw, the same men who had left us 
in skeleton form three months ago (less by two days). They 



1888.] FROM FORT BODO TO THE ALBERT NYANZA. 191 

cheered, and we cheered ; they fired a volley, and both Nelson 
and myself fired off every chamber of onr revolvers in 
salutation. It was a moment of excitement, a reprieve from 
the death sentence which we had so long felt pressing over 
and around us. The men kissed our hands, and in every way 
appeared fully conscious that they were doing a good act in 
rescuing us. When here formerly, they were in the condition 
of serfs to the Manyuema wretches ; now they paraded about 
with a manly pride of themselves. 

Stairs told us what had happened since we had parted ; how 
they had found food at a distance of ten days from here ; had 
emerged from the forest into the open plain ; how they had 
had some severe fighting on the way, that Mr. Stanley and 
Jephson are working hard at Fort Bodo, but still without 
news of Emin. He was delighted to see us, and our joy to 
have him back can hardly be described. He was prepared 
with his renovated band to bring away ourselves and our 
invalids, and almost all the loads ; but he had brought nothing 
to pay for the hospitality of the Manyuema. We talked over 
all the events of the past three months ; and, after an hour or 
so, we went to have a shauri with the chiefs. They were sur- 
prised that no pay was forthcoming for their goodness to us, 
but they consented to let us go — with our burdens. This was 
but prudent on their part, however, as with Stairs' men we could 
now easily sweep the camp, most of the strong men of the 
Manyuema being away on suffari. Stairs is a really good 
hearted fellow, and did not neglect to bring us plenty of food. 
So we killed the fatted calf, which on this occasion took the 
shape of a milch goat — our only all, excepting a single cup of 
Indian corn. We sat up late to prolong our rejoicings ; and 
altogether I felt that this relief was the happiest event of mv 
life. I had said several times, lately, to Kelson that I believed 
that Mr. Stanley would rescue us before the three months were 
ended, but Nelson did not feel quite so sanguine. I had felt 
the idea hover over me as a sort of prevision ( ? second sight) 
that we would be relieved within the three months from the 
date of Mr. Stanley's departure. A dreamy idea to this effect 
had encouraged me to keep up during many a weary hour of 
depression. As the news of our rescue spread around, our 
wretched men began to drop in, and their horribly skeleton- 
like outlines presented an appalling contrast to the appear- 



192 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

ance of the men who had been brought back by Stairs. Many 
of our poor creatures were away at native villages; many 
more had died : some of them from the cruelty of the 
Manyuema ; some from the immediate effects of starvation 
and disease ; some, I have reason to believe, were eaten by our 
hosts, if the remains of a fire, and the presence of recently 
stripped human bones in its neighbourhood, can be taken as 
circumstantial evidence. 

Jan. 26. — We felt to-day that we had received a new lease 
of life : so we set with vigour to do some packing and re- 
arranging f loads, selection of boxes, &c. ; which we had 
commenced last night, but did not continue long. We had 
another shauri with the chiefs this morning ; as usual, they 
begged everything they saw, but Stairs limited their appropri- 
ation to two rifles and a box of ammunition, which he gave to 
Kilonga Longa. This, with what he had already got from 
Nelson and myself, was very liberal payment indeed, for the 
dismal entertainment he had provided us. From Nelson 
alone he had got nearly £100 worth of material, including 
rifle, watch, etc., &c. Uledi went down with the crew for the 
boat, and met us by another road, when we had started. 

A heavy fall of rain during the morning obliged us to 
postpone our departure from Ipoto for a couple of hours, but 
at 11 a.m. we were able to lighten our hearts, bv turning our 
backs on our Manyuema hosts, to whose benevolence we are 
so much indebted. Before going, I offered my donkey to 
Kilonga Longa as a present ; but he was refused. I then 
suggested that he might shoot him as food for his men, but 
this permission was also declined. I was desirous to get rid of 
the poor animal, as I had never ridden it, and did not expect 
to now ; as it was physically impossible for me to bring it 
further on account of the great number of huge fallen trees 
which lay here and there in all directions in the clearing 
through which we were obliged to make our way. Sometimes 
we would have to march along the trunk of a tree ten or 
fifteen feet from the ground, and, as the poor donkey could not 
possibly be expected to take part in such gymnastics, I was 
obliged to surrender him to the inevitable. Accordingly, 
having brought him as far as I could — Zanzibar to Ipoto 
representing a fair pilgrimage — I asked Stairs to shoot my 
Arab steed, having failed to sell him. 



1838.] FROM FORT BODO TO THE ALBERT NYANZA. 193 

We parted on the best terms from the Manyuema, bidding 
a friendly farewell to each and all, although I could have 
crucified every one of the wretches for their treatment of us 
and our men. We left some loads with Kilonga Longa which 
we are to call for again; among these is my hammerless 
shot gun, which I could have sold for food had it not been 
disabled by Ismailia. 

We camped for the night at a distance of three miles from 
the Manyuema. 

Jan. 27. — Uledi arrived at our camp with the boat 
yesterday, after we had halted for the night. We left early 
this morning, and halted at 10.30 a.m. ; but owing to the 
difficulty in getting the section of the boat along, Stairs, who 
remained with the rear guard, did not reach our camp until 
5 p.m. We had marched about three miles. Nelson is still 
very shaky on his legs : both he and I have had a very severe 
turn of indigestion ; which we attribute to eating of the fat 
goat's meat, yesterday and the clay before. I feel the fatigue of 
walking greatly ; I drag myself slowly and painfully along, and 
am unable to keep up with the men. 

Jan. 28. — I had another return of my erysipelas to-day ; it 
always appears in the same place (around left hip, and extend- 
ing down front of thigh). We stopped at 9 a.m., after a march 
of two miles ; and camped for the night.- The boat will hardly 
xeach us to-night, on account of the obstructions in the way ; 
produced by undergrowth, logs, streams, &c. 

Jan. 29. — We marched till 11 a.m., doing about six miles. 
Stairs sent back seven men to one of the native villages in the 
rear, to recover two rifles which had been taken from our men 
last night by the Manyuema : these rifles were handed back to 
our party in safety. The boat arrived about 4 p.m. 

Jan. 30. — We marched till 8.30 A.M. — about four miles. 
One of my invalids, Baraka, died on the road. 

Jan. 31. — We marched about four miles, and halted for the 
day. Sudi Ben Ali and Khamis Wadi Zied died on the road. 
There is no food in the camp, and the weaklings are dropping 
out by the way. 

Feb. 1. — We marched this morning till we reached a deserted 
village, where we secured a goat. The flesh of this animal was 
distributed to the weaklings and the boatmen — to the latter in 
• consideration of their having the hardest work. When we had 

o 



194 . EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

made camp, the men went off searching for food, but found 
very little. 

Feb. 2. — We camped at 10 a.m. in the morning, after a 
march of a few miles. In this course, we passed through a few 
ruined villages. We also passed a Manyuema caravan, return- 
ing with plunder, after raiding the surrounding country. 
They had with them a large number of chickens, with great 
quantities of bananas and corn. We envied them their ac- 
quisitions, however much we prided ourselves on detesting the 
means by which they have been obtained by these human 
harpies. 

Feb. 3. — We marched five miles to-day. Stairs gave me 
letters to Mr. Stanley and to Jephson ; as Kelson, myself, and 
all the men — except those employed in carrying the boat — 
must go on to Fort Bodo, and not wait for the boat, as this. 
would cause great delay and more hunger. We calculate 
getting there by the 7th or 8th ; Stairs — bringing up the boat 
— will arrive about two or three days later. I am to leave a 
letter for Stairs at Kilimani, on the right hand side of the door 
of a certain hut, saying how we had been getting on, and 
whether the natives had attacked us. 

[The letter was found by Stairs in its place in due course.] 

Had another relapse of my erysipelas to-day. 

Feb. 4. — Our camp last night was at a village, on the side 
of a steep hill. We left it early this morning, with thirty-four 
loads, and marched to Mr. Stanley's old camp. Here was very 
little food ; a certain amount of starvation prevailed amongst 
us, but we could live a little while on hope now, as we knew that 
relief was uot very far off. On the march we passed a few: 
villages, which had been burnt by the natives. This appears to 
be the almost universal custom here, whenever an enemy passes, 
through a village, the natives leave, and burn it clown. I saw 
a huge elephant within a few yards of me to-day. They are 
very plentiful in these parts, and destroy banana plantations- 
wholesale. 

Feb. 5. — We arrived this morning at Kilimani, where we- 
got the first good view of surrounding scenery since we 
had left Stanley Pool. During the whole of this dismal 
interval no such thing as a landscape was ever exposed to our- 
vision at any stage of our progress. We can now see over 
the tops of the forest trees — which had so long, formed our. 



1888.] FROM FORT BODO TO THE ALBERT NYANZA. 11)5 

prison bars — to a distance of at least twenty miles around. 
There is, however, nothing but a dense covering of foliage to 
be seen over the face of the country, so far as our vision can 
reach. 

The men are now collecting plantains, which abound here. 
The natives have deserted this village, most of which has been 
recently burned clown. I am getting anxious about Stairs and 
his party, as they have little or no food, and no means of 
getting it ; and they are relying on me to send them supplies 
from the Fort, when I have got there and seen Mr. Stanley. 

Feb. 6. — We started early, but were soon obliged to halt for 
the day, on account of Nelson ; who is still very weak, and, of 
course, has not much power of endurance ; and we have no- 
porters to carry him. Poor fellow ! he has certainly been by 
far the greatest martyr of any of us to the relief of Emin Pasha ; 
and it will require a large quantity of earthly glory hereafter 
to make up to him for what he has suffered. 

Feb. 7. — We marched about seven miles to-day. We passed 
one of our leader's former camps; also a native (Washenzi) 
village, which consisted of a group of small round huts, built 
of saplings, and thatched with the leaf of the phrynium. We 
w r ere obliged to dig holes in the ground to get some water to 
drink. This primitive form of artesian well, a few feet deep v 
when prepared, yielded us a modification of aqua puree which 
we felt squeamish enough in drinking ; even after filtering and 
prolonged boiling, as it was both muddy and soft. 

Feb. 8. — We started early, and arrived at Fort Bodo at 
11 a.m. This station is situated in the country of Ibwiri. We 
entered with our flag flying, and fired a few rounds as a salute,, 
to emphasise our advent. This performance is always gone 
through in these parts, whenever a caravan arrives at its des- 
tination. I met Mr. Stanley first of all, who gave me a warm 
welcome ; then Jephson, who also said that he was glad to see 
me ; they were both fairly well. Our leader was quite cheery.. 
Nelson arrived at about 3 p.m., and received a hearty welcome 
from all. 

The manner of entrance to this fort is almost as great a 
puzzle to a European as to an uninitiated native. The 
establishment has four watch-towers, and a granary filled with 
about six tons of Indian corn. Several huts have already 
been constructed ; one for Mr. Stanley, one for the officers, 

o 2 



196 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

one for the goats, two for the Muniapara or head-men, and ten 
for the other men of the Expedition. They are all whitewashed, 
— with lye made with white ashes, as a substitute for lime. 
The ashes were procured by burning the huge logs which had 
lain about in the clearing. Each hut has very thick walls, built 
of mud, with a strong skeleton frame-work of interlaced sap- 
lings ; which, in their turn, are kept steady by strong poles 
fixed deeply in the ground. The roofs are sloping, and thatched 
with leaves of the phrynium ; and each has a good verandah 
to furnish a cool shade. Our leader has a great fancy for making- 
roads ; when a standing camp has been made, the first thing- 
he does is to make a road or two, in some direction which may 
be utilised. Two have been constructed here, the "Avenue 
Nyanza," and the "Avenue Manyuema," indicating respec- 
tively the line of our future advance, and that which we have 
already traversed. 

There is a rich supply of plantains over a radius of a couple 
of miles from here. Here is also a good water supply. We 
have three cows, one calf, and about twenty goats. Accord- 
ingly, a milk ration, of nearly a cupful to each European, is 
supplied night and morning. About four acres of the adjacent 
soil has been thoroughly cleared, tilled, and planted with Indian 
corn, and about ten acres more are now undergoing the clear- 
ing process, in preparation for the sowing of corn and beans. 
Every one looks well-fed and happy. The influence is con- 
tagious : we seem to have got under the benign influence of the 
lucky stars at last ! An enormous amount of manual labour 
has been done here since the arrival of the advance force ; 
building and fortifying the encampment, clearing and tilling 
the farm, &c. 

A party of men were sent back, to assist Stairs and his men 
in bringing up the boat. 

Feb. 9. — I received orders this morning to go out and take 
charge of a party of axe-men, in the extension of the Avenue 
ISTyanza. About twenty members of our collected force are 
still laid up with ulcers. The work commences at 7 a.m., and 
goes on till 6 p.m. ; with an interval for food and rest (11 — 
12.30). The sun is intensely hot; but the work must be 
persisted in, with the object of having a full granary by-and-by. 
Still 1 never see any sunstroke, and I often wonder at it; not 
so much in the case of our black friends — who are protected by 



1888.] FROM FORT BODO TO TEE ALBERT NYANZA. 197 

nature with their cutaneous pigment and sub-cutaneous oil — as 
in our own case, who have no such natural shields, and use 
very little artificial protection. 

Feb. 10. — Jephson was sent on suffari to-day, with thirty 
men. He started on fifteen minutes' notice, taking nothing 
with him but what he stood in, with the addition of an old 
mackintosh. He wore boots of his own manufacture, of the 
fashion of Veldtschoons, which in all probability will be left 
buried while crossing some muddy marsh, where elephants 
love to wallow. 

Of the twenty-nine men who had been left with me at the 
Manyuema camp : eleven perished there, three others have 
succumbed on the march, and I am afraid that many of those 
who are still behind will never reach here. 

Feb. 11. — The healthy men are hard at work — cutting the 
logs into pieces, and clearing the ground to prolong our avenue. 
Now we appreciate the value of the hoes, the billhooks, &c, &c, 
which our leader's previous experience had induced him to 
bring with him. 

Feb. 12. — Stairs arrived with the boat. Most of the cutting 
of huge trees, and subsequent splitting of the timber, was done 
with native axes — of all sizes, made in native foundries from 
crude iron ore. 

Feb. 14. — Jephson returned from his excursion to-day, 
bringing nine goats. 

Feb. 16. — Stairs left this morning with twenty-three men 
and two boys. They are proceeding to Ugarrowwa's station — 
a march of about 200 miles — and are to bring up the men (fifty- 
six in number) who had been left there (invalided) on our way 
up. He expects to be back in a little over a month. Twenty of 
his men are to go on to meet the Eear Column, with letters 
from Mr. Stanley, and to show them the way hither. Each of 
them has got a gratuity for the work. Mr. Stanley is to go on 
to the Albert Nyanza, for the second time, taking the boat 
with him, and will be accompanied by Jephson. I am to 
be left here, with Nelson and the invalids. I do not like 
this : so am asking our leader to bring me on to the lake. Poor 
Nelson is broken down generally, and is ailing badly with 
ulcers and rheumatism. Mr. Stanley says that he expects to 
be back here in four months. If Stairs returns with the 
men within one month, he is to follow up Mr. Stanley who 



198 EXPEMENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

will go slowly so as to give him the chance of catching 
him up. 

Our men are now working hard here, every day, in the con- 
struction of a ditch, ten feet wide by ten feet deep, extending 
around the east side of the Fort. They have already gone to 
even a greater depth than this, in some places, without striking 
the rock. 

Feb. 17. — Mr. Stanley asked me to examine his arm to-day. 
He has been suffering great pain, and is looking worn and 
anxious, and sickish all over. He still, however, preserves his 
appetite. I found that he has been suffering from inflam- 
mation of one of his axillary glands (on the left side) which 
will probably go on to suppuration. I recommended to keep 
it continuously covered with hot poultices of banana flour, or 
Indian corn meal, till suppuration is promoted. 

Feb. 18. — I was sent for at 3 a.m., to see Mr. Stanley. He 
was suffering from great pain in the epigastric region ; and, 
indeed, apparently over the whole surface of the abdomen, with 
a good deal of hepatic tenderness, especially in the vicinity of 
the gall-bladder. He said that it is the same illness which 
had brouo-ht him to the brink of death on each of three former 
occasions. One of these attacks occurred when he was residing 
in chambers in Bond Street, and had lasted three months. 
So he is naturally very anxious about the result. 

Feb. 19. — The illness of our chief was, of course, my great 
care to-day. I kept him on an exclusive milk-diet. The 
milk w T as always given cold, and diluted with almost an equal 
quantity of water. There is still great pain and tenderness 
over the stomach, accompanied by very distressing vomiting 
of a dark fluid. The rejected matter is evidently stained with 
some blood. There is also great flatulence. He was quite 
sleepless during the night. I applied turpentine stupes, and 
gave forty minims of tinct. opii by the mouth ; followed, as the 
retching continued, by half a grain of morphine, administered 
hypodermically (at bed-time). The latter gave great ease. I 
sat with him all night and all day ; the vomiting continued, at 
short intervals, all the time. The tongue is covered with a 
thick white fur, and the skin is bathed in a profuse clammy 
perspiration. The pulse and respiration are both very rapid : 
he has fever, which is now assuming an intermittent type. This 
form of fever develops when one is prostrated in this climate 



1888.] FROM FORT BODO TO THE ALBERT NY AN Z A. 199 

from any cause, be it what it may. I applied poultices, made 
with meal prepared from Indian corn, and sprinkled with, 
laudanum over the surface. The stomach is very irritable. 

Feb. 20. — Mr. Stanley still very ill, and suffering intense 
pain ; so that I now give a large dose of morphine morning 
and evening. I have now used up my stock of castor-oil, but 
I will be able to get a fresh supply, as the castor-oil tree is 
found growing all the way across equatorial Africa, and the 
matives use it a good deal for rubbing over their bodies, 
♦especially when they are suffering from any local pain. So I 
collected a quantity of the seeds and expressed the oil ; which 
I find quite as good and as effective as that which I had brought 
with me. The only difference appeared to be that the oil of my 
manufacture was not so clear and, accordingly, of course, not so 
pretty to look at. I have used this oil as a soothing application 
to the men's ulcers, and gave it to them as a medicine when 
xequired. I also encouraged them to anoint themselves with it, 
•as it made the unhealthy skins smooth and glossy ; and the 
jubbing was in itself a good exercise — a self-imposed massage, 
in fact — while a portion of the fatty constituents were un- 
doubtedly absorbed. I have had the opportunity of noticing 
during these experiments, that the application of the oil over 
the cutaneous surface gave the individual a comfortable sensa- 
tion of comparative coolness during exposure to the sun ; and 
I learned that it is customary with the natives, when they are 
obliged to undergo a prolonged exposure to the solar rays, to 
prepare themselves by smearing themselves all over with a 
thick layer of oil or fat. Our Zanzibaris gave me a very 
favourable account of its coolino; effects. 

The castor-oil is prepared by the natives (and also by our 
Zanzibaris) by toasting the seeds, in a pot or pan, over live 
embers for a short time, then putting them into a large 
khino (wooden mortar), pounding them into a pulp, and 
boiling this pulp with water. The oil floats to the surface of 
the water during the ebullition ; and, when cool, the palm of 
the hand is placed in contact with the layer of oil, some 
•of which adheres to it, and is dropped into the vessel prepared 
to receive it, by drawing the oiled palm of the hand tightly, 
from heel to finger-tips, athwart the brim. The oil, of course, 
slowly trickles down to the bottom of the vessel ; and this 
.crude performance is repeated till the entire film has been 



200 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888; 

removed from the surface of the boiled water. The process is 
a slow one, as may easily be understood from the description T 
but quite rapid enough for ordinary African tastes. 

The oil prepared in this way was quite dark in colour, 
having a burnt appearance and unpleasant odour, due to the 
fact that the shell of the seed was always burnt during 
the roasting process; and this scorched portion was always 
pounded up, and extracted with the rest. Accordiugly, I was 
induced to try and patent a new process of preparation, by 
which some of the unpleasant characteristics of this home- 
made oil might be removed : I had a quantity of seeds toasted, 
after which the burnt shells were all removed by careful pick- 
ing, and the seed alone was subjected to the pounding and 
boiling process. The resulting oil floated to surface of the 
water as clear and translucent as any specimen of the " cold 
drawn " to which I used to be treated in my boyish days. Both 
Europeans and Africans have taken kindly to this oil of my 
manufacture ; and drink it whenever the production of its effects 
are desirable. It is also used for inunction, and has turned out 
handy in the cleansing and brightening of our rifles, as well as 
forming a soothing dressing for ulcers. 

Mr. Stanley is still very poorly this evening ; he sweats 
most profusely, and when he sleeps for any little time, is 
tortured by horrible dreams. I am keeping turpentine stupes 
constantly applied. The gland in the arm-pit is kept assidu- 
ously poulticed — with extract of belladonna smeared over each 
new poultice. It is very painful and inclined to suppurate ; 
but I have thought that there was a chance of its undergoing 
resolution, on which account I used the belladonna rather 
copiously. 

Feb. 21. — Jephson sat up last night with Mr. Stanley, as I 
was knocked up for want of sleep ; having sat up two nights in 
succession. He feels a little better now, but I am still very 
anxious about him ; as the ease which he has experienced for 
the last few hours is really due to his increasing collapse. 
His pulse is extremely quick and weak, and his entire con- 
dition very unpromising. When first called to see him in the 
early morning, I thought, from the prominence of the hepatic 
symptoms, and the great tenderness over the situation of the 
gall bladder, together with excruciating pain, that the symp- 
toms might be simply those of the impaction of a gall-stoue 



1888.] FROM FORT BODO TO THE ALBERT NYANZA. 201 

but there is no doubt now that the case is one of sub-acute 
gastritis, with intense congestion of the liver and spleen. He 
cannot sleep, night or day, till he has had a large dose of 
morphia, followed by Sali's massage of the feet and legs. I 
keep two boys always in the room at night (or at the door 
sleeping) to be ready for this work, and also to be ready to 
fetch whatever may be wanted ; but they are so fond of sleep, 
and snore so boisterously, that I am obliged to rouse them 
every few minutes, to prevent them from disturbing him. 

The pain recurred badly this evening ; so I gave a hypo- 
dermic dose of morphine, with a corrective of atropine. I 
also give him bismuth and bicarbonate of soda in his milk. 
He is feeling easier to-night, but is extremely weak. 

Feb. 21. — I sat up the whole of last night, continually apply- 
ing warm stupes over the stomach and liver, and poultices to 
the affected armpit : for food I gave him milk and water 
only. The cow's milk agrees with his stomach much better 
than the goat's ; the latter being too rich. We have but one 
cow, and a couple of goats ; if these were to die, my patient 
must follow; for all our European provisions — excepting some 
blue-mouldy tea and coffee — have disappeared, months ago. 
He had his first good sleep to-night ; it lasted from 11 p.m. to 
2 a.m ; and he afterwards dozed at intervals. He feels some- 
what stronger to-day ; but it is still touch and go with him : 
he is excessively weak, even now. His tongue is still heavily 
coated with fur. At 2 a.m. this morning, on awakening from 
sleep, he felt a return of the pain ; so I gave him another 
hypodermic injection of morphine and atropine, followed by 
the application of hot stupes, &c. I was glad to see that he 
fancied a short smoke this morning, and chatted a little. I 
have no doubt this attack of gastritis was brought on by 
indigestible food — forest fruits, leaves of trees, " popped " 
(toasted) corn, &c, &c. — used when the stomach had already 
been greatly reduced in tone and secreting power by pro- 
longed starvation ; and all this assisted by the use of large 
doses of quinine to allay the fever from which he had very 
frequently suffered. 

He hurt his inflamed arm to-day ; so it is very painful and 
greatly swollen this evening : however, I am glad to say that 
he is in much better spirits, so his constitutional condition is 
decidedly improving. I gave him a hypodermic dose of 



202 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

morphine and atropine at 5 P.M., and repeated this at 
9 p.m. ; so I am hoping for a much easier night. These 
medicines are all contained in Burroughs and Welcome's 
tabloids, which I have found extremely satisfactory ; as they 
are very soluble, while they occupy very little space, and have 
never lost their strength. I have never used any therapeutic 
preparations at all so convenient or so reliable. The medical 
departments of the services should abandon the present clumsy 
and inconvenient system of carrying fluids, pills, powders, &c, 
and adopt this mode of administering medicines : as it is safer, 
the dose is more reliable, and transport so much easier — they 
occupy less than quarter the space and weight ; also one medical 
officer could attend to four times the number of patients. 

Feb. 23. — Jephson sat up with my patient last night. He 
slept but two hours ; however, he had dozed occasionally 
during the day. The pain in the stomach has greatly dimi- 
nished : so I ventured to s:ive him a warm bath. He alwavs 

i CD m 

has bismuth and soda in his milk, which he sucks through the 
india-rubber tube of my pocket filter, as he is still quite 
unable to sit up — or even turn round in his bed — without 
assistance. 

Feb. 2-i. — I sat up with my patient last night. At 9 p.m. 
he had a very severe attack of spasmodic cough, which 
caused him great distress ; there was considerable difficulty in 
breathing, and in getting up the phlegm. I gave him inhalations 
of eucalyptin and tne warm steam from boiling water, a supply 
of which I kept near his bed, so as to saturate the atmosphere 
he breathed. I also applied hot turpentine stupes over his 
ohest. After this treatment he perspired profusely, the cough 
subsided, and he slept fairly well. 

He coughed a good deal in the course of the day, so I took 
all the precautions I possibly could to avoid draughts, by 
stopping up all chinks in the wall. He is extremely anxious 
to go out, and see how the work is progressing around the Fort ; 
but I cannot, of course, consent to this ; as his life is still, 
seriously, in great danger. His mind has wandered a great 
deal during the course of his illness, and he is very difficult 
indeed to control ; as he is very prone, under all circumstances, 
to do what he likes, regardless of advice, friendly or otherwise. 
He is quite delirious this evening. 

I crave him another inhalation of eucalvotin this afternoon. 



1888.] FROM FORT BODO TO TEE ALBERT NYANZA. 203 

There is bow very little pain over the gastric region ; and I 
hope that the improvement will continue, if he will only be 
careful, and do as I wish him. I gave him a little arrow-root 
and water, as his only nourishment. 

Feb. 25. — Jephson sat up with Mr. Stanley last night. The 
fever is diminishing, and the cough and bronchial catarrh are a 
good deal relieved. The arm is still very painful, but as no pus 
has formed, I am now painting it with tincture of iodine. The 
tongue is becoming cleaner, although very slowly. He is able 
to take milk and arrowroot to-day ; and with some little relish. 
The latter commodity is my own private property, as the small 
store of tins supplied to the Expedition have been exhausted. 
He slept but two hours last night. He insisted on being 
■carried round the Fort to-day, to see the state of the earth- 
works ; this, although he was actually in so exhausted a con- 
dition that he could not raise himself from the bed. He was 
carried by his Zanzibaris on a door ; in the horizontal position, 
and as comfortable as I could manage to make him under the 
circumstances. As he was borne along, the men ceased work- 
ing, greeted him with their best salaams, and everywhere 
expressed hearty congratulations on his recovery, and their 
delight on seeing him again. I should mention that during 
his confinement to bed, both the head-men and their subordi- 
nates were continually pressing for interviews with him, so as 
to have an opportunity of expressing their sympathy in his 
illness. I was, of course, obliged to keep them away, for he 
was in such a condition during a great part of the time, that 
a single interview would, almost to a certainty, have decided 
the fatal issue. 

Feb. 26. — -I sat up last night with Mr. Stanley ; he slept 
fairly well, but suffered a good deal from the pain in his arm. 
He felt stronger this morning, and sat outside for a little ; 
•supported in an arm-chair. This change to the open air — from 
the cramped space and limited field of view obtainable within 
the hut — had a good effect, and raised his spirits. 

Feb. 27. — He was greatly better last night, so that only his 
servants sat up with him. The pain and tenderness over the 
stomach and liver have nearly quite gone ; but his arm is very 
painful. He had a little beef-tea and milk to-day. 

Feb. 28. — Only the servant sat up with Mr. Stanley last 
might. In consequence of the formation of an abscess in his 



204 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

axilla, there is necessarily a great deal of tension and throbbing,, 
accompanied by the usual constitutional disturbance ; but his- 
other symptoms are improving very fairly. 

Feb. 29. — I sat up last night, as he is so restless. He became- 
so uneasy at 1 a.m., that he would not stay in bed ; and we 
were obliged to place him in his chair, where he remained tilt 
6.30 a.m., after which he lay down again. 

He now goes out every day, as his gastritis has subsided ;. 
however, he is not yet out of danger : his tongue is still 
thickly coated with a white fur. He is able to walk a few yards- 
with a little support. 

Mae. 1. — I sat up with Mr. Stanley last night. He slept 
fairly well, and was able to eat some sago this morning. He- 
took some chicken-broth during the day, and, altogether, is- 
doing well. His temperature is now normal. 

Mak. 2. — I gave him 15 grains of quinine by enema to-day > 
as a prophylactic against the fever. I sat up with him last 
night, the third night in succession. Like most invalids he 
is very irritable. 

Mar. 3. — My patient slept badly last night. He had some 
arrowroot (made with milk) during the night, and took chicken- 
broth to-day. His tongue is very red and beef-steaky at the 
edges ; the dorsum — on either side of the septum — is covered 
with a white fur ; so that his condition is still far from satis- 
factory, although he is getting a good deal stronger. 

Ten men are sent out every day, as ruga-ruga, to hunt off the 
natives, who hover around the fort with mischievous intentions. 

Mar. 4. — My patient now takes sago, milk, and chicken-tea 
by turns. Last night seven of the Zanzibaris, who had been 
left at the Manyuema camp at Ipoto, arrived here with only 
one rifle among them — this belonged to a man named 
Pyrangani. The adventure was a very plucky one on their 
part, as it represents eight days' good marching. The poor 
creatures are awfully thin and worn. They told us that two- 
men had died at the Manyuema camp since I left, three others 
remain there, who are still unable to march. 

Mar. 5. — Mr. Stanley has had a severe attack of fever to- 
day ; his temperature is 106°. It has, of course, worried and 
weakened him. His tongue is cleaning slowly. 

Mar. 6. — Mr. Stanley has high fever to-day. At 2 p.m. I 
gave him 25 grs. of quinine. 



JL888.] FROM FORT BODO TO TEE ALBERT KYANZA. 205 

Kain fell in torrents during the greater part of the day. I 
opened the axillary abscess, having first given a hypodermic 
injection of cocaine as a local anaesthetic. He is suffering from 
•hectic this evening. 

Jephson is now down with intermittent fever ; Nelson is 
still very seedy, so that I am the only white man who remains 
f fit." 

Mae. 7. — Mr. Stanley's arm is less painful this morning. 

Mae. 8. — I still keep the arm regularly poulticed, etc. My 
dressings and drugs are all running short : another unpleasant 
contingency to deal with. But I am making extensive use of 
my own castor-oil, which I give freely to the invalids. 

Nelson is now doing pretty well ; he suffers a great deal from 
the itching which is one of our plagues, and has taken to 
trying a medicine used by the natives as a palliative for this 
symptom, and which is prepared from the stalk of the 
(plantain. 

Mae. 9. — Mr. Stanley had a good night till 5 a.m., up to 
which time he slept soundly. He w r as then aroused by the 
pain of his arm ; a fresh hot poultice was then applied, and 
gave a great deal of relief. He is entering on another course 
of the wretched "African fever." The tongue is still coated 
with a thick white fur ; he sat in the shade for a good while 
to-day in his big easy-chair. 

Mae. 10. — He is now able to walk about a little, so 
he was out to-day for some time. He also ate some roast 
chicken. 

Mae. 11. — My patient is now rapidly improving. He feels 
Tnuch stronger, and is constantly asking for food. Two of 
our men have been killed by the natives, Kamwaiya and 
Saramini ; another, ISTuni Pembi, was wounded in the leg. 

Mae. 12. — Mr. Stanley is improving : he continues to eat 
-chicken with a good appetite. I had a severe attack of fever last 
night, which was brought on by a wetting. I have commenced 
to construct an ambulance or landau for Mr. Stanley's use, in 
which he is to be carried. It consists of portions of cow- 
hides sewn together by thongs ; and will be suspended from 
a bamboo pole, carried by two of the Zanzibaris. The frame is 
-also to be made of bamboo-cane ; and the conveyance weighs 
..about 25 lbs. 

Mae. 13. — Very heavy rain to-day : which caused complete 



206 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

suspension of work for the time. Stairs will be due on the- 
18th inst., so I have been thinking a good deal of him to-day. 

Mak. 14. — Mr. Stanley took a dessertspoonful of quinine and' 
orange wine. He has a good appetite and is improving ; but 
is still weakly, from the effects of his terribly severe illness. 
I finished his ambulance conveyance to-day, in which he can 
lie down or sit up as he pleases ; and in which he will also be- 
effectively shaded — from sunshine and rain — by a complete roof. 
He took some warm food to-day ; for the first time for thirty 
days. 

Mak. 15. — Mr. Stanley still improves. He took some more 
quinine to-day. 

Mak. 16. — The affected arm is healing rapidly, so I have- 
left off poulticing, and now apply wadding. He is now able to- 
put it through a sling for the first time. 

The following is a complete list of the nutritive medical 
comforts which were carried for us six white men when leaving: 
Yambuya : 



sago, 1 tin each.. 

), 1 tin. 

, 1 tin : tapioca,. 



Mar. 17. — I filled the magazine with ammunition ; and, as- 
many boxes were nearly empty, I filled them, leaving three 
empty boxes which would only be a useless incumbrance im 
marching. 

Mar. 18. — Stairs was due yesterday, but did not turn up. 

Mar. 19-22. — Still no sign of Stairs. A general parade was- 
held (full strength) : 141 men and seven Muniaparas (chiefs). 
Forty-one men, in charge of one white officer, are to remain here 
to hold the fort — with twenty-six rifles — during the absence of 
the main body. Mr. Stanley — with Nelson, Jephson and myself 
— had some target practice yesterday (18th). 

On the 19th and 20th, Mr. Stanley spent a great part of each . 
day at the river, with the workmen. The weather is very bad ; 
and he was drenched with a heavy shower of rain. I- 



No. of Box. 




Contents. 


60 . 


. 


Brancly, 1 dozen. 


27 . 




Liebig, 2 pots ; arrowroot, tapioca, i 


23 . 


. 


Liebig, 2 pots; sago, 1 tin. 


10 . 


. 


Liebig, 4 pots. 


14 . 


. 


Tapioca, 2 tins. 


2 . 


. 


Liebig, 6 pots ; tapioca, 1 tin ; sage 


2 . 


. 


Sago, 1 tin. 


Total: Brandy, 1 


dozen ; Liebig, 14 pots ; arrowroot. 


4 tins ; sago, 


4 tins. 





1888.] FROM FORT BODO TO THE ALBERT NTAXZA. 207 

wanted him to go in, and that I would look after the work, as 
he might very probably bring on a return of his illness by this 
exposure : but he refused. 

I tried an Indian remedy for fever ; dose, 40 to 100 drops. I 
cannot say that I observed any very pronounced results from it, 

ILar. 23. — Good Friday. This is the last day of our public 
works at Fort Bodo, and the men commence to-morrow to 
prepare for their departure to the lake (Albert Xyanza). The 
men have been pretty well exercised for a good while in road- 
making, although it is hard to see the future utility of this 
piece of engineering. However, the work did them good ; it 
was capital exercise ; and, certainly, often kept them out of 
mischief. 

Mar. 24-30.—. . . . 

31 ar. 31. — All the men fell in to-day, and each man had his 
load told off. Jephson and myself were obliged to take our 
tents, minus the poles ; as we are so short of carriers. We 
hope to provide for nocturnal comfort by cutting poles in the 
forest every evening, when we halt for the night. 

April 1. — Beady to start for the Lake to-morrow. 

April 2. — Left Fort Bodo this morning en route for the 
Albert Xyanza. Our force numbers 122, including boys. 
Each man has got ten rounds of ammunition. Jephson and 
myself accompany 3Ir. Stanley, each in charge of one company. 
Nelson remains in command of the fort, with twenty-seven 
rifles. We started at 11 a.m.; we were prevented from moving 
sooner by the heavy rain which fell all morning. We marched 
till 4.30 P.M., when we halted in the forest, having gone over a 
distance of eight miles. When we had stopped, 3Ir. Stanley 
sent for me to go and see him in his tent ; he was conrplaining* 
of pain in his knee, and also said that he anticipated an attack 
of fever ; the pain was either due to acute rheumatism or a 
movable cartilage in the joint. 

3Iost of the men left at the fort with Nelson were invalids : 
suffering from large ulcers, and the general effects of starvation. 
Hardly one of them weighs over 100 lbs. at present. The 
dreadful debility — which is chiefly the cause of the rapid 
spreading of these devouring ulcers, and, when the latter 
have spread to a certain extent, becomes a necessary result 
of their presence — is one of the most dreadful enemies - 
with which we have had to contend during our sojourn 



208 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

in the African forest. When the resistance of the tissues 
has been reduced to a certain (low) level, every slight abrasion 
of the skin refuses to heal — especially if on the legs — 
and becomes the centre of a spreading sore. The very 
worst among them have been distinctly traceable to the irrita- 
tion produced by the bites of flies, which had flown from the 
surface of an ulcer whose secretions they had been imbibing 
and conveyed the infectious discharge to the previously healthy 
skin of another individual, or to another part of that of the 
same person. A bulla is sometimes seen to form on the 
infected spot, which — in the vast majority of the worst cases 
— is below the knee ; this is filled with a dark-red serous 
fluid, and soon breaks, leaving a ragged sloughy surface 
exposed. From this starting-point, the sloughing process, in 
the cases of those individuals who have previously been greatly 
reduced by starvation, spreads with appalling rapidity ; and 
destroys the various tissues in the unsparing way that hospital 
gangrene is known to do. The edges are livid in colour, 
.and horribly ragged in outline and texture ; the tissues beyond 
them are infiltrated, and " boggy " to the touch. The sub- 
cutaneous and muscular tissues yield most readily ; so that, after 
& time, shreds of tendon and edges of aponeurotic sheaths are 
seen lying across the floor and sides of the ulcer, and sometimes 
trail the ground ; the nerves and vessels are treated with greater 
respect for some time, so that they are completely dissected 
out, and may be identified in their proper anatomical positions ; 
font bye-and-bye they, in their turn, also yield. The ensheathing 
membrane of the bones is afterwards laid bare, and shares in 
the necrobiotic change ; and, as an inevitable result, the 
-superficial layers of osseous tissue perish, and undergo exfolia- 
tion. The edges of the ulcer always become irregularly 
undermined as the growth of the sore proceeds ; it is under 
cover of the shade so formed that the rats of Ipoto and of Fort 
Bodo often sought a temporary refuge. The loss of tactile 
sensibility over the diseased surface favoured these horrible 
gymnastics of the rodents of the forest. The loss of vascularity 
occasioned by the coagulation of the blood in the surrounding 
vessels, gave the whole of the eroded surface an ashen-grey 
appearance, as if all colouring matter had been removed from 
the tissues by a very crude process of bleaching. But high 
above all the signs and symptoms of the ulcer of the E.P.R. 



1888.] FROM FORT BODO TO THE ALBERT NYANZA. 209 

Expedition, towers that characteristic smell which is invariably 
present — not only to the sufferers and their medical attendant, 
but to every individual member of our force, and to every white 
officer, whether in camp or on the march — one, the memory of 
which will, I think, always remain with me on this side of 
eternity ! 

Apkil 3. — I gave Mr. Stanley 20 grains of quinine this 
morning. His knee is giving him a good deal of pain, 
although he is carried all the time. The pain is situated at 
the inner aspect of the joint, over the internal lateral ligament 
— the usual site of synovial pain — and is, I have no doubt, 
rheumatic in its nature ; the attack being in all probability 
precipitated by the effects of exhaustion, combined with 
mental worry and anxiety. We marched for five miles to-day. 
We have 89 loads with us, all told. 

Apkil 4. — We marched five miles to-day. Jephson had 
very high fever. 

Apkil 5. — There was heavy rain this morning. We marched 
seven miles to-day. Mbaruku, our kilongosi (guide), fired 
two shots at a native — who is said to have aimed several arrows 
at him, and wounded him with one ; we suspect, however, that 
our ambitious guide merely scratched himself for the sake of 
the notoriety and sympathy which he calculated that it 
would bring him. So absorbing is the thirst for fame even 
in the heart of Africa, and under the most discouraging 
circumstances ! 

We had some gymnastics — in the way of tree-climbing — this 
morning. This was indulged in for the sake of the view, as 
we could not see more than a few yards in any direction when 
on the ground. Some of us thought that we had sighted 
a lake in the forest from the top of a high tree. 

Apkil 6. — We started early, and halted for the day at about 
10.30 a.m. Mr. Stanley uses " Jacob's Oil " for his knee, and 
says that he finds it useful. We reached a banana plantation, 
where we found good bananas ; there were many vessels dis- 
covered, which were filled with pombe (banana wine) ; this was 
at the base of " Mount Pisgah," from which Stanley first saw the 
" Promised Land." 

April 7-9. — Creeping along. 

Apkil 10. — We reached the Ituri Kiver. The natives 
assumed a hostile attitude, and made threatening movements 



210 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

from the opposite bank, where they thought they were safe 
from us — the river lying between. Some shots were fired to 
clear them away. Jephson then quickly screwed together the 
sections of the boat, and placed her in the water ; when I was 
sent with a party to hold the opposite bank, while the column 
was being ferried across. The natives disappeared into the 
woods as we approached the bank, making, as they went off, a 
furious row, not unlike that of a pack of hounds in full cry. 
In the huts which they had temporarily erected, we found 
some bark-cloth, some iron bangles, bracelets made with human 
teeth strung together, &c. Also about 10 lbs. of salt, which 
was very welcome indeed, as we finished ours some months 
ago, 

April 11. — We marched to the open plain. Our chief sent 
me ahead of the column, to find the nearest point of emergence 
from the forest ; which I did — at the end of a march of an hour 
and a half: thus ending my own forest existence of nearly 
twelve months. It did feel as a deliverance : I fancied that I 
could realise the feelings of Bonnivard when, after his six years 
of dungeon life in the Castle of Chillon, he was again able in 
freedom to look over his beautiful and beloved Lake of Geneva. 
I thought of Christian as his burden rolled down from his 
shoulders at the foot of the Cross ; I re-echoed the enthusiasm 
of our leader, and the sentiment which dictated the baptism of 
his Pisgah ; and — gravitating again to a more earthly mood — 
I thought, as I had pretty often thought during our forest life, 
of that celebrated monarch Nebuchadnezzar, and fancied that 
I could picture the train of his ideas on being restored to shelter 
and luxury, from his prolonged banishment to exposure and 
grazing. Last night Jephson and I gormandised on a real 
aldermanic dinner — of goat, chicken, and beans. We smoked 
our native tobacco, in order to complete our happiness ; but 
we soon grew pale, and became very faint and sick, the dose 
was stronger than we had calculated it to be ; this pure native 
growth being much more potent than that which we have 
recently been accustomed to. 

April 12. — We marched about five miles, and halted in a 
village, in which the natives are very wild and warlike. 
They surrounded us on all sides ; and showered their arrows 
in amongst us, in every possible direction. Fetteh, our only 
interpreter, was severely wounded by an iron arrow, which 



1888.] FBOM FORT BODO TO TEE ALBEBT NYANZA. 211 

passed obliquely through the lower end of the sternum, and 
evidently penetrated his stomach, as he vomited up great 
quantities of blood, and sank into a state of extreme collapse. 
Arrows flew into the camp from every side, so that parties had 
to be formed, and sent out to clear off the enemy. Sentries 
were posted high up in the trees ; on platforms of native manu- 
facture, which had been placed in these positions for the 
advantage of the " look-out " which they afforded. All our 
able-bodied men were sent with billhooks and knives, to clear 
away the tall grass and brushwood for a considerable distance 
around the camp ; so as to leave no lurking-place for the 
enemy (as we knew that they are very dexterous in concealing 
themselves in the tall grass), and so that our rifles could play 
on them before they rushed our position. 

In order to prevent our men from separating confusedly in the- 
decidedly dangerous position they occupied here, Mr. Stanley 
threatened them very strongly; nevertheless they continued 
running wildly about looting chickens : so he fired a shot at 
one, so as to frighten them, and bring them to some sense of their 
disorder. As even this did not appear to have much effect, he 
fired at Dick, wounding him slightly in the heel, but not in- 
capacitating him for duty. This substantial warning had 
the result of bringing the men together, and quieting their 
excitement. 

We then proceeded to construct, a boma around the camp. 
The sentries on the " look-out " in the trees had narrow escapes 
from being hit by arrows, and they were busily occupied in 
keeping off the natives who prowled about in the long grass 
close to our huts. 

Apkil 13. — I gave my knee a very nasty sprain to-day. 
We were obliged to carry Fetteh on the march, as he is very 
weak ; being quite blanched from vomiting of blood, and the 
shock which he has suffered. He is conveyed in Mr. Stanley's 
ambulance landau. I am obliged to feed him by enemas, as 
I caunot venture to put anything into his wounded stomach. 

During the whole night, the natives kept calling to one 
another from the tops of the surrounding hills ; and their 
ringing voices can be heard for miles around. They were 
evidently passing the signal of alarm to one another — all 
through the surrounding country. Their voices were terribly 
distinct in the stillness of the night, and some of them were 

r 



212 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

so close that we anticipated an attack on the camp. So we got 
some of the men under arms, and strengthened the outposts ; 
but nothing happened to disturb us further; and, in the 
morning we found that none of the natives had come within a 
mile of our camp. I have noticed this peculiar transmission of 
voice before, during the Nile Expedition for the relief of Gordon. 
The natives there understood one another distinctly in shouting 
across the broad expanse of the Nile. The practice of savage 
life has a great deal to say to it, I am sure. The atmosphere 
also favours the exercise of the vocal powers, but the result is 
undoubted. They can understand each other at a distance at 
least six times as great as that through which Europeans can make 
themselves heard. The natives on the Congo were also in the 
habit of communicating with each other across the river, where 
it is over a mile in width. In the latter case, the effect was, 
of course, helped out by the well known facility with which 
sound waves are propagated over smooth water surfaces ; but 
even after making liberal deductions for the influences fur- 
nished by air and by water, a large balance must still be 
credited to the wild and free exercise of the vocal chords and 
intrinsic laryngeal muscles which the cramping limits of 
•civilized communities absolutely forbid. 

Apeil 14. — We marched to a high range of hills, and halted 
on the site of a camp formerly occupied by Mr. Stanley. As 
the natives were collecting in an ominous manner on the 
-surrounding hills, we fired a few shots to keep them off. We 
occupied a good position on the top of a small hill. The place 
could easily be made very safe : its only drawback being that 
it is rather far away from the water. After an hour or two 
of observation, we found that the natives did not appear very 
anxious to show fight ; so we sent out some of our men unarmed 
in order to convince them that we meant peace and goodwill, 
and to try to get them to make terms with us. By this time 
a boma had been constructed about our camp. 

After some little time, the natives began to come into our 
camp, one by one ; each carrying a few blades of grass in his 
hand, as a token of peaceful intentions. The first who ventured 
in was a typical Mhuma, tall, slender, and of graceful build, 
with high forehead, thin lips, slender nose, and small ears. These 
men, on coming in, crawled up in front of Mr. Stanley, and 
crouched down before him in a very submissive attitude. They 



1888.] FROM FORT BODO TO THE ALBERT NYANZA. 213 

told us that a Mzunga (white man) with two steamers, had 
come down to the south end of the Albert Nyanza ; where 
Mr. Stanley had been when he made his first visit to the lake, 
in December last. Now we have heard directly, for the first time, 
of Emin Pasha ; and we at least know that he has been lately 
alive, and not far off. It is the first substantial encouragement 
that has been offered to us of the ultimate success of our 
tedious pilgrimage. They gave Emin Pasha the epithet of 
Matteju, " the bearded one ; " and gave glowing descriptions of 
the huge iron canoe in which he travelled over the surface of 
the lake, and which vomited forth sparks of fire, and enormous 
volumes of dense smoke. Their impressions seem to have been 
similar to those which filled the breasts of the West Indian 
aborigines on witnessing the arrival of Christopher Columbus 
and his followers. 

They explained to us that their first shyness and tendency 
to hostility were due to the fact that they had taken us for the 
Wara-Sura, those terrible sharpshooters of King Kabba Rega, 
who plundered their villages and farms, and devastated the 
country at periodic intervals. 

Apeil 15. — We remained all day in camp : received visits 
from Mazamboni and his satellites. Mazamboni is the chief 
of all the surrounding neighbourhood. In order to thoroughly 
seal our friendship, which had advanced without interruption 
so far, we were obliged to perform the rite of " blood brother- 
hood." Jephson was selected to be the martyr in the good 
cause of the Expedition. Mazamboni and he sat on the 
ground, facing each other, and with their legs extended : 
Jephson's right leg was then elevated, so as to rest on Mazam- 
boni's left; Mazamboni's right leg was steadied on top of 
Jephson's left. Marabo, a Zanzibari, who understands these 
ceremonies, then procured one of my lancets, and made a small 
incision on the inner side of Jephson's left knee, and one of 
similar dimensions on the corresponding side of Mazamboni's 
right knee. When the blood flowed, some salt was rubbed into 
either wound, a few mysterious signs were made, Marabo made 
a few appropriate remarks, and the ceremony was concluded : 
we were all united in the bonds of eternal friendship. 

They told us that they had heard of two white men on the 
lake. These, we conclude, must have been Casati and Emin. 
Mazamboni sent us a present of six goats and one calf. Fetteh 



214 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

was strong enough to-day to interpret a little for us ; and he 
speaks the language best. The natives seemed very much 
afraid of our rifles ; they have been already attacked by rifle- 
men — when their country was ravaged, as it has been repeatedly, 
by the Wara-Sura (sharp-shooters) of Kabba Rega, the King of 
Unyoro. They always stoop, or fall flat on their faces on the 
ground, when shot at. This fact of itself made us suspect that 
they have had a bitter personal experience of bullet-firing 
before now. They had been very hostile to the advance 
of the Expedition when Mr. Stanley made his first journey to 
the Albert Nyanza, in December last. The cause of this 
(already mentioned) was now fully explained, and they ex- 
pressed their fullest contrition for the mistake, and their 
intention to make us the amende in our future relationships. 

April 16. — We marched about ten miles, escorted by 
native guides. 



( 215 ) 



CHAPTER XL 

MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 

Our newly-made friends, the Wahuma and Bavira tribes — Emin's letter to 
Mr. Stanley— A scrap of " The Times " dated April 27, 1886— Kabba 
Rega's treatment of Captain Casati — Arrival at Chief Kavalli's residence 
— Cattle pestered by birds — Comparison of the Wahuma herdsmen and the 
Bavira hoemen — We sight a snow-capped mountain — Plague of mos- 
quitoes — Launch of the Advance on Lake Albert- — Jephson embarks in 
her and goes in search of Emin Pasha — Abundance of game on the Lake 
shores — Weapons and musical instruments of the natives of the plains — ■ 
Industry and ingenuity of the Manyuema — Professional rain-makers — 
Our camp at Bundi — Emin's steamers sighted — Jephson and I escort 
the Pasha to the camp — Excitement of the Zanzibaris — Meeting between 
Stanley and Emin — Dress and appearance of Emin and his soldiers — 
Numerous cases of entozoa — The Pasha doubtful as to leaving his 
province — He presents me with some slippers and cotton cloth — Preva- 
lence of fever at our new camp — Mabruki gored by a buffalo — Rumours 
regarding Kabba Rega — Daring kites — Jephson to accompany Emin to 
his province and read the Khedive's orders — I give a ' thought-read- 
ing' entertainment to Emin's people — Mimosa bush plantations — The 
Pasha's lack of authority over his officers and men — Nubiambari, a 
Zanzibari, missing — Unsuccessful attempt to find him, and subsequent 
brush with the natives — The Steamers Khedive and Nyanza — The 
etiology of malarial fever — Further presents from the Pasha — Stanley 
and I start to bring up the rear column from Yambuya — Desertion 
of our Mahdi porters — Emin sends us other carriers — We camp at 
Kavalli's — Dancing in Africa — We assist Mazamboni in a tribal feud 
— Retreat of the enemy on our approach — The victory celebrated by 
a war-dance — Food supplies from Mazamboni — Condition of Fetteh, our 
interpreter — A further instance of African love and devotion — We ford 
the Ituri River — Arrival at Fort Bodo — Sickness in the Fort — The 
last day of the Rammadan — Preparations for the forest march to 
Yambuya. 

April 17. — Two very fine-looking natives came, and brought 
ns goats, and a cow, with some chickens. They told us that 
Emin Pasha had left a letter for us, which is at Kavalli's, one 
clay's march from here. All day long we received visits from 
friendly natives. This is Mpinga's country ; but the natives 
half-a-day's march ahead say, we are told, "that they will 
resist our advance, and fight us to the death." Accordingly, 
as it always has been, our African progress seems destined to 
prove an alternation of sunshine and shade. 



216 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888, 

Our newly-made friends of this district are divided, pro- 
fessionally and socially, into two great classes : the respective 
followers of the callings of Cain and Abel — the keepers of 
cattle, and the tillers of the ground. The former are the 
Wahuma, shepherds and herdsmen ; the latter the Bavira,. 
hoemen (agriculturists). The social assumption is altogether 
on the side of the former, who look with proud contempt on 
their compatriots who dig the soil. 

Apeil 18. — After a march of about six miles, we were met 
by a native, who brought, wrapped up in American cloth, a 
letter addressed to Mr. Stanley, and signed Dr. Emin. It told 
that the writer had heard of the apparition of a white man on 
the south side of the lake, and had come down with tho 
steamer to see who it was ; also asked us to stay where we are r 
and that he will come down again when he hears of us. The 
letter was dated " Tunguru, Lake Albert, 25. 3. 88." It was 
wrapped in a fragment of the Times, which I have preserved,, 
and which contained a description of the " Newmarket " first 
Spring meeting (Tuesday, April 27th, 1886), with the winning 
of the Two Thousand Guineas trial plate by Mr. Manton's 
" Prinstead," ridden by F. Barrett. What delight the reading 
of this scrap of civilized intelligence gave us ! We were all 
in ecstasies ! The trick is finished at last ! 

Emin mentioned that Captain Casati had been exj>elled 
by Kabba Eega, King of Unyoro. His imperial majesty of 
Unyoro has, evidently, so far as we have yet been able to learn,, 
been making it pretty hot for all his neighbours, indiscrimin- 
ately. The stories we are everywhere told of his performances 
makes us feel somewhat Quixotic; but such feelings must 
necessarily be repressed, for any attempt on our part to avenge 
the multitudinous wrongs of the weak and the oppressed in 
this part of the world would end in even greater disaster than 
terminated the performances of the celebrated Knight of La 
Mancha. 

April 19. — We arrived at the residence of the chief KavallL 
This chief is a fine, handsome specimen of the Wahuma tribe,, 
and possesses large herds of cattle. He presented us with a 
cow and a goat. The cattle in this country are greatly 
worried by a bird, of the size of a thrush, which feeds on 
insects, and is always picking and scratching at the backs of 
the cattle, and thereby producing sores which are kept open 



1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 217 

by the heat of the sun. When an attempt is made to chase it 
away, it will not fly off, but coolly runs down on the opposite 
side of the animal ; and thus plays hide-and-seek with safety. 

The hereditary superiority of the Wahuma herdsmen has 
stamped them with the air of haughty superiority which they 
always assume in their relations with their Bavira neighbours. 
The former will not, under any circumstances, intermarry with 
the latter ; and they treat these in every way as an inferior 
order of beings. They will exchange their own meat and 
dairy produce for the vegetables and grain of the Bavira ; but 
they think themselves justified in appropriating the latter 
in way of plunder, when pressure of circumstances renders 
barter inconvenient. They graze their cattle by roaming about 
among the attractive pastures of the open country ; but they will 
never take up fixed abodes in a settled village, as do the less 
pretentious Bavira. The former represent the mobile landed 
aristocracy of this local section of African society ; the latter, 
the plodding husbandmen. The name of the chief of the 
Bavira is Mpinga. He bears the hereditary title of Gavira. 
It need hardly be added that both Wahuma and Bavira have 
their various arbitrary social strata, the limits of which we are 
not very curious to define, even if we had plenty of spare time 
at command to do it. 

Apeil 20. — Jephson and myself were sent by Mr. Stanley 
this morning to bring the boat and launch it on the lake ; 
preparatory to sending Jephson, accompanied by the boat's 
crew, to go on a voyage of exploration, and, if possible, find 
the Pasha. We camped in a village, where we received three 
goats as a present from the courteous natives. On the march 
we distinctly saw snoiv on the top of a huge mountain situated 
to the south-west of our position. As this was a curious and 
unexpected sight, we halted the caravan to have a good view. 
Some of the Zanzibaris tried to persuade us that the white 
covering which decorated this mountain was salt ; but Jephson 
and myself were quite satisfied that it was snow. We then 
passed on, descending the face of a very steep hill, and entered 
a village surrounded by tamarind trees on the plain below. 
The natives were friendly, and we put up there for the night ; 
but the plague of mosquitoes was too terrible for the language 
of even a poet to describe with justice. We were obliged to 
leave the huts in which we had intended to sleep, as we were 



218 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

simply being eaten and worried to death, not only by mos- 
quitoes, which were the most numerous and vicious I had ever 
met, but also by all sorts of other disagreeable insects. 
Besides, the smell of the huts was unbearable ; for the natives 
keep all their goats in the huts, reminding one of the 
brotherly kindness with which the Irishman treats his pig. 
So we were obliged to betake ourselves to the open, where we 
made ourselves large bonfires, with as much smoke as we could 
manage to manufacture, for it was the only weapon with which 
we could keep off the mosquitoes, xind we sat around these 
fires till morning. We also ascertained that there is a plant 
growing in great profusion here, not unlike a nettle in appear- 
ance, and having an odour somewhat resembling that of mint, 
which, when pulled and placed close to one, has the happy 
effect of keeping away these pests. So we procured a supply 
of it, with which we fortified our position ; and thus managed 
to get a little sleep. 

Apeil 21. — At daybreak we struck camp, and marched 
about five miles : when we reached the lake — the goal of our 
somewhat wearisome pilgrimage. This march was over a 
beautiful park-like plain, covered with short grass, and in 
which the amount of game was absolutely bewildering. 
Buffaloes, elephants, antelopes of various sizes, &c, &c, were 
seen everywhere. Jephson screwed the sections of the boat 
together, and launched her. While this was being done, a 
few of the men, who had been posted as sentries to guard 
against possible surprise, shot a couple of antelope : these 
gave us a good meal, and provided Jephson and his crew 
with a supply of provisions for a couple of days at least. We 
then shoved off the boat from land, with fifteen persons on 
board ; and gave them a hearty parting cheer as they moved 
off to find the missing Pasha. 

I had a few shots at crocodiles ; the lake appears to be alive 
with these brutes. I then marched back to the village at the 
foot of the hill, taking down two antelopes on my way. 
Among the bewildering varieties of game here I noticed a 
great quantity of guinea-fowl. 

The men have gorged to such an excess to-day, that they 
are absolutely incapacitated from further work. At this camp 
there are many large tamarind trees, under the shade of which 
the men have made their huts. The tamarinds, when steeped 



1838.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 219 

in water, make a refreshing acid drink. Several men climbed 
up amongst the high branches and foliage, and found a number 
of shields made from hippo and rhinoceros hide, which will be 
most useful, not only as shields to protect our men, but also 
to make sandals and soles for boots. 

April 22. — I was almost worried to death last night by 
mosquitoes, and all sorts of abominable vermin. After a restless 
and unrefreshing night, I started at 5.30 A.M., and arrived 
with all my men at Kavalli's headquarters about noon. I 
then interviewed Mr. Stanley, and reported Jephson's departure. 

The natives of the plains generally use iron arrow-heads, 
barbed, and borne on cane or reed shafts, of about a yard in 
length. The shaft is furnished with a small notch at the end, 
with which it catches on the bowstring. The iron head is let 
into the hollow of the cane shaft ; this feature of the structure 
of the arrow presents a marked contrast to that used by the 
natives of the forest, in which the arrow-shaft is let into the 
hollow of the iron head. The bows used on the plain are 
from a yard and a half to two yards in length, and slightly 
flattened in cross section ; those of the forest are circular in 
section, and taper somewhat from the middle to either end. 
The string used in the forest is made from rattan cane ; the 
string used on the plain is a cord, made usually of twisted 
grass fibre, but sometimes of gut. The natives of the plain 
use tall shields, carefully constructed, and with considerable 
skill, from well-plaited grasses of different colours ; also small 
shields made of dry hippo hide or rhinoceros hide, and formed 
so as to protect the front, back and lateral aspects of the chest 
and abdomen, like a lifeguardsman's cuirass. It can be 
laced up the back, and is suspended from above by shoulder- 
straps. We cut up a number of specimens of this latter variety 
of shield, to make boots for ourselves and sandals for our men. 

A great variety of musical instruments is also found among 
these peoples ; they are mostly stringed, and usually approxi- 
mate in design to the harp, the banjo, or the zither. The 
strings are made from gut. Whenever an animal dies, there 
is a great demand among the Zanzibaris for strips of the 
aponeurosis which covers the muscles of the loins (lumbar 
aponeuiosis). This they cut into longitudinal bands, narrow 
enough, when dried, to use as thread ; and with it they stitch 
the rents in their garments, &c. They employ fibres of 



220 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

grasses for the same purpose ; and also use the skeleton-fibres 
of the leaf of a peculiar palm, which they carefully tease out, 
and then twist up into thread. Their needle is manufactured 
from rattan cane ; and is furnished with a hole near one end, to 
represent an eye. The Manyuema are exceedingly clever in 
making very durable materials from grasses. Their grass 
cloth is very thin, and beautifully woven ; they make coats, 
and, indeed, all sorts of articles of apparel, from it. I had not 
an opportunity of examining the processes of its construction ; 
my sickness and starvation during the residence at the Ipoto 
camp would, in themselves, have been nearly enough to 
prevent any investigations of this kind, and even to blunt all 
interest which I might otherwise have taken in them. But, 
apart from this obstruction, and our want of knowledge of 
their language, our loathing for the wretches who held us in 
custody there, and our fear of their treachery, prevented 
Nelson and myself from holding any unnecessary communica- 
tion of this kind with them. Accordingly, even when we 
were on our legs, any inquiries which we conducted re- 
garding the social and industrial habits of our Manyuema 
hosts were usually of the most limited description, and our 
information was, practically, always obtained at second hand. 
They evidently possessed a certain amount of ingenuity and 
industry ; but their objectionable qualities effectually over- 
shadowed all others. Indeed the detestable features of the 
men are daily growing upon me still, as I see more and more 
of the other African tribes. The ladies were uot quite so 
objectionable. 

I reported to Mr. Stanley that I had seen a snow-clad 
mountain. He was a good deal interested. [He saw this 
mountain-range afterwards, and at once named it the " Moun- 
tains of the Moon."] 

April 23. — I walked to-day to the top of a ridge of hills, 
which are situated between our camp and the lake (to the 
eastward). Here I found small forests of tree ferns, the tallest 
about fifteen feet. A wild rocky country stretched out to the 
north. This is inhabited by the Balegga tribe, who are always 
on hostile terms with the Wahuma inhabitants of the plains. 
A native told Mr. Stanley that the Muta Nzige Lake (Albert 
Nyanza) has one river, called the Semliki, entering the most 
southern extremity. I had a severe attack of fever last night. 



1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 221 

One of the natives came up to Mr. Stanley and myself to- clay, 
as we were standing together ; and requested Mr. Stanley that 
he would give him some rain for his crops, as there has been 
too much dry weather lately. The inhabitants of the districts 
neighbouring the Nyanza appear to have great faith in the 
rain-giving powers of the more gifted members of the human 
family. And as so many of their worldly possessions, whether 
articles of necessity or of luxury, depend so largely on a fair 
supply of the moisture descending from above, a professional 
rain-maker is a person possessing vast social importance — 
somewhat similar in kind to that of the nganga (charm 
doctor) of the Lower Congo, even if not quite so high in 
degree. [We afterwards ascertained that among the Bari 
tribe in the Equatorial Province there is a hereditary practi- 
tioner of this profession who is greatly venerated and looked 
up to, and who displays great skill in extracting large fees 
for useless advice.] 

Since we left the Congo I have not seen any idols ; and all 
the aborigines, so far as I have met them, appear not to 
believe in any supreme being. This is also conclusive 
proof of the absence of Masonic principles amongst these 
people. 

Apeil 24. — .... 

April 25. — We left Kavalli's station, and marched (about 
four hours) nearly as far as the crest of the range of hills 
which overlook the Albert Nyanza, where we formed our camp. 
The name of the place is Buncli, and it is situated — at a height of 
4,900 feet above the level of the sea — on one of the mountain 
ranges which separate the vast areas of the basins of the Congo 
and the Nile. Here one can walk from the " head waters " of 
the Nile to those of the Congo within fifteen minutes. The 
village itself is on the crest ; our camp was on the brow of the 
plateau, overhanging the plain, which stretches from its base to 
the shore of the Albert Nyanza. It commands an excellent 
view of a great portion of the southern end of the lake. 

April 26. — We descended the precipitous slopes to the 
plains; this proceeding occupied about two hours and forty 
minutes. We reached a village, the natives of which refused 
to give us any food ; so we collected a supply of provisions of 
Indian corn and bananas — about enough for five days. 

April 27. — Two parties were sent out to reconnoitre : one 



222 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

was sent to the shore of the lake (about five miles off) to 
ascertain whether Eruin Pasha's steamer was in sight ; the 
second party was entrusted to me, and we spent some hours in 
examining the natural products of the neighbourhood. We 
succeeded in killing some game, which was brought back to 
camp. I missed a kudu, but Wadi Mabruki brought down two. 

April 28. — Saat Tato, Wadi Mabruki, and myself went out 
to shoot meat, for provisions for ourselves and men. Wadi 
Mabruki shot two kudus, and one spring-bok ; Saat Tato and 
myself were unsuccessful in our efforts. 

April 29 — Sunday. — Every man remained in camp, as we 
expected the boat and steamer every minute. Just before 
noon, a letter was brought from Jephson, saying that he had 
arrived at Emin Pasha's station, Mswa, at 9.30 a.m. on the 
26th inst. ; but that Emin was away with the steamers and 
would not be back for a few days ; when he returned they 
would come down together to us. He sent us two baskets of 
onions. They were brought by natives in a canoe. We 
packed up our things at once and marched off — within twenty 
minutes of the receipt of Jephson's letter. We reached the 
lake in four hours, and made our camp just before sunset. 
Everyone was on the qui vive to try and be the first to sight 
the steamers. Each of us tried for an elevated spot so that 
he might have a good point of view, and everyone strained 
his eyes to the utmost. Mr. Stanley got a good 'vantage- 
ground by utilising the summit of an ant-hill, on which he 
stood and used his "binoculars." He was, accordingly, the 
first to announce " Steamer ! " (about 5 p.m.) — she was then 
about seven or eight miles off. As the vessel came closer 
within range the Zanzibaris became perfectly wild with 
excitement. They were overjoyed at the certainty of the 
existence of the mysterious white man, in search for whom 
they had wandered so far and suffered so much — an existence, 
the fact of which they had often bitterly questioned in the 
course of their weary wanderings through the forest. We 
had bonfires lighted in conspicuous positions, and we also set 
fire to the parched grass, so as to attract the attention of 
those on board the steamer. The vessel did not approach us 
directly, but made for a bay about two and a half miles away, 
in which she anchored (shortly before 7 p.m.). Mr. Stanley 
dispatched me with an escort to receive the Pasha and 



1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT 223 

conduct him to our camp. It was pretty dark by the time 
I got near the place where the steamer was anchored, so I 
fired a couple of volleys, on hearing which the Pasha, accom- 
panied by Casati and Jephson, put off in our boat and came 
towards us. In the dim twilight we saw the Advance 
rapidly propelled by the experienced stroke of her now joyous 
Zanzibari crew. They very soon gained the shore, where I 
received the party. Emin Pasha then took Jephson's arm, 
and Casati mine, and our men displayed their sense of the 
triumphant issue of our wanderings by firing several volleys. 
It was not the least dangerous stage of our mission, this — the 
Pasha's men were so excited that they let off their bullets in all 
directions, and at every angular elevation, so that a good many 
whizzed by, unpleasantly close to our heads, as we moved about 
in the dark. Our Zanzibaris had lighted numerous bonfires, 
and preceded us as in a kind of torchlight procession, show- 
ing us the road to the camp, which was now about a couple of 
hundred yards off. I had a most animated conversation with 
Casati ; nothing deterred, apparently, by the fact that neither 
of us could speak two words in a common language. Jephson's 
attention was fully occupied in keeping the Pasha from 
stumbling into swamps and holes, as he is extremely short- 
sighted. He is very slightly built, and rather short in stature 
(about five feet seven inches in height). He wore a clean 
white shirt, with a spotless coat and trousers. His bronze 
skin and black hair were shown out in strong contrast by 
these garments. He looked cheerful, and was excessively 
polite. The meeting between our leader and him was a very 
warm one. Mr. Stanley gave the Pasha a seat, and invited 
Casati, Jephson, and myself to sit down on some boxes which 
had been arranged to serve as seats. He then disappeared 
for a moment, and returned with three pints of champagne ; 
which he had been keeping carefully concealed away in the 
legs of a pair of long stockings, buried in the lower depths of 
his box. We then all drank the Pasha's health and also 
Casati's. The Pasha said that he could scarcely express his 
thanks to the English for sending him relief at the expense of so 
much trouble and cost ; but added that he did not know whether 
he would care to come out, after doing so much work in the 
province, and having everything now in perfect order. Jephson 
says that Mswa Station has an orderly and cleanly appear- 



224 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

ance. We all hope that Eniin Pasha will make up his mind 
to come out with us : however, Mr. Stanley pointedly observed 
that our object in coming was to bring him relief in am- 
munition, &c, and not to bring him out ; as we shall have 
barely enough men left to enable us to push our way through 
to Zanzibar, and protect ourselves in the course ; without the 
responsibility and trouble of looking after Emin and all his 
people. Our duty will be finished when we have handed over 
the ammunition, which was what he required to protect 
himself. 

Apeil 30. — We marched the column a few miles further on 
to-day, to a good camping-ground ; this was desirable, as we 
shall probably remain here for ten days, or so, more. Mr. 
Stanley has gone up in the steamer to appoint our new camp, 
accompanied by Emin Pasha and Casati. The Pasha brought 
with him many cows, sheep, goats, a donkey, onions, matem- 
mah (durha) flour ; also a quantity of cloth, and a demi-john (or 
large glass bottle) of clear intoxicating liquid — distilled from 
grain, and not unlike Irish " poteen." The cloth is especially 
useful, as we are all in rags, and look the characters of fearful 
brigands when we stand near the man whom we have come so 
far to rescue — the neat, and beautifully-dressed Pasha. 

Emin Pasha turned out in full uniform to-day : this consists 
of an old blue tunic with epaulettes and a few brass buttons, 
decorated with crescent and a star ; also a sword, and blue 
trousers with a red stripe. All his soldiers are dressed in 
uniform — coat and trousers, made of tan-coloured cotton cloth, 
which is grown and prepared in his own province. The but- 
tons are beautifully made from shells ; each of which is pierced 
with two holes, and sewn on with cotton thread. They all wear 
leather sandals ; as there are many mimosa, and other thorny 
trees, in the country. They wear hats (neatly woven) of grass, 
with a small conical crown, and a broad leaf to keep off the 
sun. They are all armed with Kemingtons. 

Several of our men have got entozoa (both tape and round 
worms). They have developed the symptoms but quite 
recently. I believe it is from the drinking water ; the ante- 
lope functions as intermediate host for the corresponding 
parasites, which is suggestive of the source. I have no doubt 
that the excreta of these animals — easily as they do, finding 
their way into the water used by the natives (and traveller) — 



1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 225 

here furnish the ova and scolices respectively, which reach their 
final stages of development in the human intestines. 

May 1. — Emin Pasha is still doubtful about leaving his 
beloved province. We have brought him many packages of 
letters and papers, which we (three) are hoping may influence 
him. He seems to look upon himself as the slave of his 
people, and that his services are entirely theirs, to be used as 
they may think proper. He must have been an ideal liberal 
governor ! 

May 2. — Emin has sent me a pair of slippers ; made in 
Turkish fashion, with pointed, turned-up toes. They are 
fashioned from a beautifully-prepared leather of a bright 
crimson-red colour, and are decorated with a degree of taste 
and elegance that might have satisfied the luxurious fancies of 
a reigning harem favourite. These slippers, like their other 
articles of dress, are made by Emin's own people. He has 
also given me as much cotton cloth as will make me a pair of 
trousers and a shirt ; these articles are sadly wanted, as my 
old ones have gone down to a few incoherent shreds, and these 
are hourly diminishing in quantity, apparently by evaporation. 
Emin is extremely courteous and considerate, and appears to 
take a genuine pleasure in giving things away to friends and 
dependents. I do not like to appear before him until my 
garments are made, for the contrast is too great. I have only 
three buttons left, so that I am obliged to sneeze, or under- 
take any sudden exertion, with very great caution. 

May 3. — The men have finished building their huts, and 
have constructed two bomas : one for cows, the second for 
sheep and goats. The steamer started this morning on a 
provisioning trip, from which she is to return in ten days. 

I had very high fever to-day — temperature 106° F. all day. 
Fever seems to be more prevalent here than even in the forest. 
The gradual depression of the level of the lake is leaving a 
very miasmatic plain around its shores ; and the chilly breezes, 
which are so constantly circulating about its waters, invariably 
bring on fever. 

May 4. — Our hunters have brought in some game, but there 
is no food of any other kind within two or three clays' march 
from here. I am down with fever again to-day, but not so 
high as yesterday. 

In the middle of my high fever of yesterday, I was obliged 

Q 



226 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

to walk a distance of over three miles, in the heat of the noon- 
day snn, to see one of our men, Mabruki Wadi Kassan, who 
had. been nearly gored to death by a wounded, buffalo. The 
infuriated animal had. caught him with one of its horns 
between the thighs, tossed him into the air, and then trampled, 
on him as he lay on the ground after falling. I found the 
perinaeuni so completely laid open, that the bladder and ad- 
jacent portions of the intestine were fully exposed. He also 
had several ribs broken, and his head was severely bruised. 
His companion had escaped similar treatment by nimbly 
climbing up a tree, while- the buffalo's attention was concen- 
trated on the victim whom he had secured. 

I dressed Mabruki's wounds, and had him conveyed to camp 
on a cow-hide stretcher. Saat Tato had managed to kill the 
buffalo, with the single cartridge which was left among the 
party when the scene occurred. This completed the list of 
three buffaloes and one antelope which had fallen the prey of 
Mabruki's rifle this morning. It had been a day of triumph 
for him in the early part of its course ; but, poor fellow, the 
wheel of fortune rapidly turned a complete revolution. His 
case is, of course, a desperate one. 

May 5. — A rumour reached us to-day that Kabba Eega, 
King of Unyoro, is sending a force of 700 rifles to attack us. 
This individual seems to prevail against all surrounding 
districts, after the manner of a raging pestilence : all the 
neighbouring tribes are living in perpetual terror of his 
attacks. He is possessed of 2,000 rifles, most of which are 
tower muskets, but others are modern Winchesters. 

May 6. — We experience a considerable amount of difficulty 
in maintaining the sanitation of our camp in a satisfactory 
state, as there is so much meat lying about in all directions. 
" Fatigue parties " are deputed to clean up the camp every morn- 
ing. Kites are always flying about in great numbers, and are 
constantly swooping down to snap up fragments of meat ; these 
birds are so daring that they often snatch pieces of meat out 
of the men's hands. Emin Pasha requested Mr. Stanley to 
allow one of his officers to visit his province, and read the 
Khedive's orders ; so that his people would have ocular evidence 
that our Expedition has actually come for their relief. Emin 
named me in connection with this request. Mr. Stanley, 
however, said that it was absolutely necessary for me to remain 



1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 2'H 

with the Expedition, and added that he would leave Jephson. 
This arrangement was, accordingly, agreed to. 

May 7. — Emm Pasha still seems very undecided about 
coming out with us. He avers that he would be quite happy 
in Africa, if he could receive papers and letters from Europe. 
He says that he will come away if his people will allow him : 
he does not like the idea of leaving his people, and does not 
think that they will come out with him, as they are all 
aborigines, and hate the Egyptians. They have little or no 
idea of the geography of the coast-line of Africa; most of 
them have never even heard of the name of Cairo, and the 
best informed among them have but some vague idea of a 
large town in that direction, which they know by the name of 
*' Masara." Mr. Stanley has proposed to him that in the event 
of his deciding not to come to the coast, he should come to the 
north-east angle of the Victoria Nyanza," w r here he would be 
placed in communication with the outer world, and might 
•comfortably enjoy the correspondence with Europe which he 
so much desires. This position should, I think, satisfy most 
of the conditions which he seems to desire. 

May 8. — I gave Emin Pasha's people an entertainment in 
the shape of a demonstration in "thought reading." My 
pin-finding was perfectly successful, and I also found with 
ease various other articles — some of them deposited at con- 
siderable distances from the camp. I was quite surprised at 
myself! I also told any of them to think of something that I 
should do, and, without imparting the secret thought to any 
one, I would do what the selected person desired. In this 
ordeal I was also successful in every instance. I caused ex- 
traordinary excitement by finding an axe which Hawish 
Effendi (commanding 2nd Battalion), one of the Pasha's 
majors, had buried in the sand of the lake shore at a consider- 
able distance from our headquarters. This performance was 
looked upon as quite supernatural. 

The steamer is due to-day, but no sign of it has yet appeared. 
It is too awful to think of going back all the way for Barttelot 
— it means about ten months more in the bush. Jephson and 
myself have both had a great deal of fever since we came to 
the shores of the Nyanza, which we had been hoping would 
prove a sort of Garden of Eden to us. It is very gusty and 
^draughty on the lake shore, and we certainly have to blame 

Q 2 



228 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

ourselves for exposure to the direct rays of the sun while out 
shooting at buffalo and antelope. 

There are some small plantations on the plain, but most of 
the scrub is made up of mimosa bush, the thorns of which 
are a source of very great annoyance to our men. They 
are obliged to wear thick sandals to protect their feet from 
them ; and, accordingly, a new article of dress, which had been 
conveniently dispensed with in the forest, has to be carefully 
provided. We are anxious to be on the move again ; as wo 
find by experience that all rest and no work is demoralizing 
— to ourselves as well as to the men. 

Emin Pasha has given me some cotton-cloth, which was 
woven by the inhabitants of his province. I have had one 
shirt, one pair of trousers, and two pairs of knickerbockers 
made from it ; so that my nakedness is again hidden. 

At a shauri held in the Pasha's tent, where his Excellency 
and his officers were conferring with Mr. Stanley and myself,, 
the Pasha showed his weakness by asking Hawish Effendi, in. 
our presence, if he would promise, there before Mr. Stanley, to 
use his influence to get his people out. This lowered his status 
at once in our eyes, as it clearly proved the Pasha's want of 
authority. He has evidently no power to lead off his men in 
any direction — he has merely a voice among them, perhaps a. 
little more influential than the average. 

May 9.— . ... 

Mat 10. — There was nothing done in camp yesterday ; 
everybody is feeling the ennui of sitting down and loafing- 
about. The monotony of this existence was abruptly broken 
to-day by the arrival of news which roused our leader's ire to a 
high pitch. Emin Pasha brought him the intelligence that 
three of our men had been living with the natives, on the hills,, 
for a day and a night ; also, that Nubiambari of (No. 1 
Company) had been killed by the natives. It appeared, on. 
inquiry, that seven of our Zanzibaris took their rifles yesterday, 
and rambled away to perform some private looting among the 
natives of the hillside. During the progress of this crusade 
one of the seven was wounded with an arrow ; and, as usual, his 
comrades ran away and left him in the hands of his enemies. 
They do not appear to have made any attempt whatever to- 
rescue him, although they all had their rifles, and might have- 
made a good fight. 



1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 229 

On hearing this irritating report, Mr. Stanley at once fell in 
the men, and fined Saat Tato, Wadi Mabruki, and some of the 
men for losing their cartridges. (Wellington said, " Punish- 
ment is cruel — nothing is so inhuman as impunity.") I was 
then dispatched with a force of forty-two armed men to search 
for Nubiambari. I left camp at 7 a.m., and marched to the 
native settlement on the side of the hill ; at which I arrived 
.about 3 p.m. We found some grain, some chickens, and three 
goats. We saw, however, no trace of Nubiambari or his rifle, 
4ind commenced to make a move towards home at sunset, when 
the natives, considering that our retreat was symptomatic of fear, 
started out from all their hiding-places, and came down upon 
us in great force. They seemed to rise from behind every rock, 
and swarmed like vermin out of the cornfields. A few rounds, 
however, stopped those who were coining on us from behind. 
They made a tremendous noise, shrieking to one another along 
the hill-tops. Fortunately, the Zanzibaris knew their lan- 
guage sufficiently well to know what they were saying ; those 
on the hill were calling down to those in the hollow to go and 
lie in wait in the corn, and attack us as we descended towards 
the plain. Acting on this knowledge, I thought it more 
prudent to halt for the night at a small village close by ; where 
we could strengthen our position by making a strong boma, 
which would keep off any rush of the enemy, and shield us 
from their missiles. I considered this much more prudent 
than an attempt to pass through the matemmah fields, alive 
with the native archers ; who would be able, in the dusk of the 
evening, to pick us off from either side with perfect impunity. 
I do not believe that half our number would have escaped 
them. So I told off a small detachment to burn down about 
thirty huts, and so give us a clear space of about fifty yards 
around our position. Having thus procured sufficient accom- 
modation, I gave the men the goats to eat, which furnished 
material for a good square meal; after which they disposed 
themselves contentedly in their several places for the night — 
as natives rarely attack at night — and we rested without 
any disturbance except that produced by mosquitoes. The 
latter are certainly atrocious pests in this part of the world ; 
they bite most viciously — I only hope that they will not 
inoculate us with any specimens of the filar ia which they so 
often carry about with them. 



230 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888:. 

May 11. — I started before daybreak, and marched down by 
a different road to that by which I ascended. We got safely 
off before the natives were awake, and marched from 5 a.m till 
noon, when we all reached camp in safety, bringing* back some 
food with us. 

May 12. — All the men fell in this morning in presence of 
our leader. There were two of the total number missing. He- 
directed me to take charge of twenty-nine men, to teach them 
skirmishing ; the remainder he sent to build huts. The men 
have now three days' provisions, as I brought back nine cups- 
of corn (with beans, &c.) to each man. The improvident crea- 
tures deserve to be left without food : they would not carry 
up all the corn from the steamer the other day, when it 
brought a large quantity for them, and she had simply to- 
bring it bach again. On their return yesterday from our 
expedition the men left, as usual, a substantial store of pro- 
visions hidden here and there in the long grass ; the packets 
were, however, picked up by Uledi, and brought into camp. 
These are aggravating instances of the deficiencies of our 
people : not only in forethought for themselves, but in grati- 
tude to their leaders, and good-fellowship to their comrades. 

May 13-14.— . ..." 

May 15. — The steamer Khedive left this moruins: to brins*- 
back carriers ; she will return in eight or nine days. She is 
in good repair, very clean, and is able to steam at the rate of 
five knots an hour. She has now been with Emin Pasha in 
constant use — between the Nile and the Albert Nyanza — for 
ten years ; and had been employed at Khartoum for a consider- 
able time before she fell into his hands. 

I had a sharp attack of fever yesterday, brought on by the- 
drill-exercise, during which I was exposed to the intense heat 
of the sun — which is the most treacherous enemy of the- 
Europeans in Africa — alternately with gusts of really cold wind,, 
which blew from time to time off the lake. My experience 
of African fever up to the present has invariably been that the 
more chill the more fever — one never occurs without the other. 
This fact has completely disarranged the preconceived ideas 
which I derived from my early reading, and the teaching 
which I had received on the subject. Another tradition which 
I had imbibed on the subject of malarial fever, and which has 
been completely dissipated by the incidents of the E. P. IL 



1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 231 

Expedition, is the false doctrine that the lower animals never 
develop its symptoms. The shade of my poor donkey — whose 
earthly remains are now mouldering near the Manyuema Camp 
at Ipoto, had it the power of responding to scientific queries, 
could yield up convincing testimony to the contrary. 

[Since my return I have looked with interest to see whether 
the science of bacteriology, which had been making such 
gigantic strides during our absence, had succeclecl in throwing 
any additional light on the etiology of malarial fevers ; but I 
found, to my disappointment, that the information obtained in 
this domain still leaves the subject in an unsatisfactory 
condition. The bacilli of Klebs and Tomassi Orudeli, and the 
alga-like micro-organisms of Laveran have, since the observa- 
tion of their original discoverers, been repeatedly examined 
with interest. The amoeba-like bodies (plasmodia or lisema- 
plasmodia) of the latter, which he has found in the blood of 
malarial patients — sometimes free in the plasma, and some- 
times enclosed in the red corpuscles — have been criticised by 
Mace, who would refer them to the second variety {corps 
flagelles) of Laveran's alga-like bodies, and by Golgi, who 
looks on them as specimens of myxomycetes ; while they are 
referred by their discoverer himself to the animal kingdom, 
under the name of " h&matozoaires" No specific ptomaines 
appear up to the present to have been isolated from cases of 
the disease, and no successful attempt has been made to show 
how it is that the influence of either microspore or ptomaine 
can regulate the periodicity of the fever. I am, however, 
glad to be able to assure the practical pathologists who have 
so often regretted the non-susceptibility of lower animals to 
malaria, as one of the greatest obstacles to their investigation 
of the disease, that such obstruction has no real existence — at 
least, in the heart of Africa.] 

May 16-21.— . . . . 

May 22. — Nothing remarkable has happened since the 15th. 
This morning, however, a stimulus was given to our monoton- 
ous existence by the arrival of Emin Pasha's two steamers — 
Khedive and Nyanza — with eighty soldiers and 150 carriers on 
board, besides fifty other persons. 

Mr. Stanley is to start on the day after to-morrow, to bring 
up the rear-column and its loads. He brings me with him, and 
our own force of Zanzibari carriers — 122 in number — accom- 



232 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

panied by 130 Mahdi carriers, who have been supplied by Emin 
Pasha. We will probably be many months away. 

The steamers on arrival played the Khedivial hymn. Emin 
Pasha sent us a large quantity of melons, oranges, pome- 
granates, pastry, &c., &c. He gave me a present of a donkey 
to-day. He is never more happy, apparently, than when he 
is conferring gifts ; he is certainly one of the kindliest and 
most generous men I have met. 

May 23. — The men spent the day grinding corn into flour, for 
the return. Emin Pasha sent for me, and gave me personally 
a present of beads. He is most kindly and considerate ; thinks 
of everything to make us happy and comfortable. He gave 
us a ten-gallon vessel of spirituous liquor prepared by him- 
self ; it is clear and nearly colourless, and almost as intoxi- 
cating as whisky. It is evidently the "poteen" of Africa 
— minus the vexatious espionage of the Kevenue officers. 
During our stay here at the lake, both Jephson and myself 
have, according to orders, taken the men out every day to 
cut a road through the long grass in the direction of the 
village, at the bottom of the steep ascent to the plateau ; it is 
a yard and a half in breadth, and now at least three miles long. 
This work kept the men in health, and out of mischief ; but 
neither Jephson or myself cared much for the job. We cut the 
path perfectly straight, and measured it by a long tape. 

May 24. — Queens birthday. Mr. Stanley and I left camp 
to-day, to take another long plunge into the forest and bring- 
up the rear column, having bade Emin, Jephson, &c, 
affectionate adieus. We had our own men, and 130 natives of 
the Mahdi tribe, furnished by Emin, to act as porters. I had 
charge of the rear guard, with thirteen rifles. Emin Pasha 
marched his regular soldiers outside, to a distance of about a 
mile and a half; and formed them up close to our path, to 
offer us their farewell salutations. They played the Khedivial 
hymn as we passed by. 

When we had proceeded a couple of miles further, twenty of 
our Mahdi porters deserted us. I placed two Zanzibaris to look 
after each batch of twenty-three carriers ; but there w r ere so 
many rivers, and so much bush, that the natives had a good 
opportunity of deserting. At a place about eight miles from 
the ^Tyanza, these Mahdi carriers deserted en masse — all ran off 
together ! I fired at one, who fell within a few yards as if 



2888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 233 

dead; I noticed his eyes blinking, and lifting his eyelid, so as 
i:o show him the rifle, brought him to his legs in as good 
health as ever. The ruffian had merely feigned being killed ; 
but did it very cleverly, as he was not even hit. About thirty- 
one were then secured. Finally, I succeeded in bringing nine- 
teen (of the 130) into the camp. I shot one in self-defence. 

All the rest of the column had now got miles ahead. I 
arrived at camp at 2 p.m., after an unprofitable march of ten 
miles. At 3 p.m., I started back with fifteen Zanzibaris to Emin 
Pasha ; to try and see if I could pick up some of my deserters. 
I recovered but two. 

I dined with Emin and Jephson, and we drank the Queen's 
health in spirit of the Pasha's manufacture. He also gave us 
some cheese of his own making. 

During dinner, a canoe arrived from Mswa station, with the 
intelligence that 120 carriers had arrived there. Emin im- 
mediately sent the steamer (at midnight) to fetch these porters. 
He also dispatched a party of forty of his soldiers, to try and 
intercept the runaways who had left us. I walked twenty 
miles to-day, so I feel pretty well tired, between the exertion and 
the accompanying anxiety ; and am glad of the evening's rest. 

May 25. — I returned early to Stanley Camp. As it is full 
moon, the 120 carriers and any of the deserters who may have 
been picked up will be sent on after us, with an escort of 
forty of Emin's soldiers. I brought fourteen of Emin's men 
here to-day, and they have returned with ten of our men, who 
will show the road. We are now encamped at the foot of the 
precipitous ascent to the plateau, about eight miles from the 
lake. We again saw the snow-capped mountains [now named 
" Mountains of the Moon "], which I first saw on the day I 
brought the boat to the lake with Jephson. 

May 26. — At 8 a.m., eighty-two carriers arrived ; under an 
escort of Emin's soldiers, and ten of our own men. 

At 3 p.m. we started — with the entire column — to climb the 
hill. Mr. Stanley was in advance ; I was with the rear guard. 
I did not get to camp till 1 a.m., on account of the delay of 
getting the animals up the hill. (I had charge of the pro- 
gress of seven cows, six calves, twenty-six sheep, and seven 
iroats.) I was obliged to shoot one cow and one calf, which 
had proved so unmanageable that the loss of time was 
becoming too serious. 



234 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888.. 

Mr. Stanley got to camp about 6 p.m. 

May 27. — A party of forty men who had gone for Kavalli 
last night has returned with him. We marched off from camp in 
the forenoon, and halted for the night about 5 p.m. We were 
obliged to kill another cow that was unable to walk. Kavalli's 
attitude to us has certainly been most kindly and hospitable ; 
and his friendship is very pleasant, and wards off many anxieties. 

May 28. — We remained in camp all day. The men had 
plenty of sweet potatoes to eat, and also some meal. The 
natives presented us with a calf. The carriers had a great 
dance this evening; an amusing diversity from the monotony 
of the clay. The tribes around the shores of the Nyanza are- 
evidently great indulgers in this form of pastime ; but so, of 
course, all savage tribes are. In the forest, however, we had 
few opportunities of seeing any displays of the kind ; but all 
our surroundings here are more pleasant. Each tribe has its- 
characteristic code of dancing gymnastics, but all partake of 
the features of the nautch dance. 

May 29. — We left camp at 4 a.m., and marched till day- 
light. We had a good moon. At daylight we met a native 
army, 1,500 in number : 500 followers of Mazamboni, 500 of 
Mpigwa's men, and 500 others. We halted to confer with 
them, for here was the rendezvous : Mr. Stanley having arranged 
to assist these chiefs in a tribal feud which they have been 
carrying out with some of their neighbours. They were now 
actually on their way to make a raid on the chief with whom 
the vendetta existed. Mr. Stanley sent me with sixty armed 
men, of my own company, supported on either flank by 750' 
natives. But the enemy must have had warning of our approach,, 
as they had all fled, and not one was to be seen anywhere. 
The inhabitants had taken their cattle and food with them 
to the hills. We accompanied our friends — on foot all the 
time — from 4 a.m. till 1 p.m., going all the while at the rate 
of about three miles an hour, and did not get a morsel to eat 
the whole time. So we were rather glad when the crusade 
was over. I then returned to where Mr. Stanley had 
encamped, on the side of a hill. When I got back to Mr. 
Stanley, after nine consecutive hours' marching, I had only 
a few Zanzibaris near me, and all the natives were left far 
behind ; the white man can walk down either the Zanzibaris 
or Aborigines any day, as their feet get tender and swollen. 






1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT 235 

Later on, all Mazaniboni's and Mpigwa's people celebrated 
the triumphs of the day by a war dance, which was really well 
performed. The warriors arranged themselves in perfectly 
martial order, and went through formidable evolutions to the 
sound of drums ; whose music, accompanied by that of their 
own voices, was simultaneously timed by the movements of 
their feet, the brandishing of their spears, and the gyrations 
of their necks, heads, and hips — accompanied by the fluttering 
oscillation of a bunch of green leaves stuck in the belt both 
before and behind. A most imposing sight ! 

May 30. — We left camp early, and marched till 11 a.m., 
when we halted for the day in our old camp, near the end of 
the range of hills. I was obliged to carry a calf on my donkey, 
during the latter part of the march. Mazamboni, accompanied 
by a number of other chiefs, and a great many men, came to 
our camp. They had been asked to bring us food, as we were 
in want of it ; and the grateful creatures presented us with 
about fifty cups of matemmah meal, and two or three calves I 
Mr. Stanley remonstrated with Mazamboni and his chiefs : he 
had given thero. a blanket, some cloth and ivory, and had 
formed myself and sixty of our men into a guard of honour 
to protect these reprobates in their expedition, in the hope 
that they would help us out of our difficulties while in this 
part of the country. But no arguments were of any use ; 
Mazamboni assured us that if we waited till to-morrow he 
would give us food ; and that, if he failed to bring us a sub- 
stantial supply, he would return the ivory, &c. The honour- 
able man intended, of course, to keep his word ! His is, how- 
ever, but an additional instance of the gratitude of which we- 
have had many experiences in our African career. The mem 
were greatly annoyed at it; they are now able to express 
themselves pretty strongly, as they are not under the depress- 
ing influences of starvation. 

May 3 1 . — We remained in camp all day. I had very bad 
fever, and was obliged to stay in bed. Mazamboni sent us 
three animals to-day, also a good quantity of matemmah 
and of malafu (banana wine). We learn that he is in great 
dread of an attack of reprisal from his enemies, which clearly 
explains this generosity. 

Juxe 1. — We marched at daybreak, and halted for the day 
in a banana plantation. 



236 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

June 2. — We marched early. Mr. Stanley's boy, Hillalak, 
has been missing since yesterday. I was with the rear-guard, 
and did not get to camp till 4 p.m. I then commenced my 
luncheon, and when half way through, Mr. Stanley appeared 
from his tent, and coming to where I was eating said, " Doctor, 
have you seen the sick man ? " I said, " No," and asked 
whether he was a Zanzibari. He said, "he is a native." I 
immediately left my luncheon and went to see, but found that 
nothing was the matter : he was merely a malingerer. 

We pitched our camp close to the same village where Fetteh 
was wounded when we were going up to the lake. The grass 
lias grown wonderfully since we were here before ; it is now 
twice as high, very rank, and looks like reeds. There are 
strong canes interspersed. The neighbouring natives came in 
to see us, and seemed disposed to be quite friendly; so we 
treated them accordingly : our men brought in quantities of 
sugar cane. 

Juxe 3. — The natives presented us with a goat, one chicken, 
and three bananas. We left early, and marched right on till 
we reached the Ituri river. Uledi and Wadi Mabruki were 
sent early in the morning to hurry to the river, and seize some 
oanoes, which they succeeded in doing. As usual, I was in 
charge of the rear guard, and 3Ir. Stanley in advance. I gave 
Fetteh my donkey to ride, as he was unable to walk. He has 
been very unwell for some days past, on account of the amount 
of work he has had to do as interpreter, and the fact that he 
has been in a weakly condition since he received the arrow 
wound in the epigastrium, just below the end of the breast- 
bone. From that time up to the present he has been bringing 
up blood at intervals ; so that I have no doubt that either his 
stomach, or the adjacent part of the oesophagus, was then 
wounded. He rode on from 6 A.M. till 11 a.m., but was so 
weak that I was obliged to get the men to hold him on by 
turns. They were, however, soon tired of this task. Massoudi, 
and other Zanzibaris, who had been helping him, thought it 
quite too much trouble ; so they dropped him on the path to 
die or be killed by the natives, who are always on our trail, 
pretty much like sharks in the wake of a ship. This is a 
further instance of African love and devotion. When the 
party came up to me about an hour after they had disposed of 
their charge in this way, I asked, "Where is Fetteh?" 



1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 237 

They replied, " We have left him on the path, as he was not 
able to ride the donkey." I abused them pretty freely, and: 
sent them back with the cow-hide conveyance, to bring him up 
on our way to the forest ; which we reached at 10.30 a.m. 

On the march we encountered a nest of hornets, whose stings- 
drove our poor cows actually mad; one of them was lost, as she 
ran away so far that we could not follow her, through the bush.. 

June 4. — We used two canoes to convey the expedition 
across the Ituri river, and the proceeding occupied four and a- 
half hours. As the cows were being driven across a large- 
crocodile appeared, and made for our cattle, holding its head 
above the water, with its mouth widely open, to seize a cow or 
a donkey. Mr. Stanley tired at the marauder, and I belie ve- 
hit it, for it immediately disappeared and troubled us no more.. 
We encamped at the village where we had formerly stayed, at 
the foot of the Mande hill, from which I had first seen the- 
plains. 

June 5. — We marched early, and halted for the night at a 
small village, where we had taken luncheon on our way to the 
Albert Nyanza. The men got plenty of bananas, and laid in 
a stock of them sufficient to last for three clays. This was 
very necessary, as we knew, from our previous experience, that 
there are none to be got after leaving this place till we get to- 
Fort Bodo. 

We are obliged to carry Fetteh every day, as the poor 
fellow is very weak. The danger of the Mahdis deserting is- 
now diminishing, as we are getting deep into the forest. 

June 6. — We marched early, and encamped in the forest.. 
The sheep will live in the forest, as they seem to like the- 
leaves. Seven or eight arrows were let fly at us from the bush. 

One of the arrows that had been shot at us hit my chair,, 
which my boy Amani was carrying on his shoulder, and 
it just saved him from a bad wound in the neck ; of course he- 
chucked away the chair and ran, but we recovered it again. 

June 7. — We started early, and made a long march ; halting 
for the night at the site of an old camp. 

June 8. — We marched at daybreak. Fetteh was carried, 
as he is very weak. Ali Jimba, who was suffering from fever,, 
fell out on the road, and was unable to proceed, so I had him 
set on my donkey, which he rode to camp. One of the sheej^ 
was so weak that it had to be killed ; also a cow fell clown oil 



238 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

the march, and could not be driven on ; so it had to be killed 
too. The dead sheep and a goat were carried to camp. 

-We arrived at Fort Bodo, where we found Stairs and Nelson 
both looking " fit." The former had brought back fourteen 
men from Ugarrowwa's canip. Out of a total of fifty-six that 
had been left there (forty-six Zanzibaris, five Soudanese and 
five Somalis) in September last, twenty-six had died, and 
thirty had left with Stairs : of these ten died on the road, 
one deserted, one was left in the Manyuema camp — unable to 
come on, one had gone down the river with couriers, and three 
are now on suffari looking for food. 

June 9. — I spent the day tending the sick. There is a great 
-deal of disease in the camp : many are suffering from fever, 
and many are disabled by ulcers. 

June 10. — This is the last day of the Eammadan. This is a 
-season observed by all devout followers of the prophet with 
the most punctilious devotion ; it was sacred among devout 
Arabs even before the religion of Islam itself had been propoun- 
ded ; it was at this season, that, when he retired to his cave for 
self-examination and converse with the unseen Creator, 
Mohammed heard, on walking forth, the shrubs and stones of 
the desert address him as the " Apostle of God." Accordingly, 
the sacredness of its anniversary to all true believers is quite 
understan clable. 

June 11. — Mr. Stanley fell in the whole force to-day. He 
distributed to each man six heads of corn per day, for twenty - 
five days ; so as to prepare for the march down river to recover 
the rear column. He goes by himself, leaving Stairs, Nelson, 
.and myself here to remain till his return. Oh, these dreadful 
•standing camps ! If they had never been instituted Africa 
would not be at all such a bad place to while away the time in. 

June 12. — Mr. Stanley gave me a tin of quinine to-day. 
This tin I had originally procured from the doctor at Stanley 
Pool. It contained about thirteen or fourteen bottles of quinine, 
each holding one ounce. He told me to take five bottles and 
leave the rest in the box, which he brings back to Yambuya 
for the use of the officers and men there. He has taken one of 
my boys, Amani, from me, as he can carry a load, and tells me 
to get a sick man in his place. 219 rations have now been 
issued for the use of the 219 men who are to accompany Mr. 
Stanley to Yambuya. This number includes 100 of Emin 



1888.] MEETING WITH EMIN PASHA AT LAKE ALBERT. 239 

Pasha's Mahdi carriers. I suspect it will take our leader all his 
time to get work enough out of these hopefuls to pay for even 
the scanty food which they are likely to be provided with 
during the greater part of their journey to Yambuya and back. 

June 13. — Preparations for starting for Yarnbuya still con- 
tinue. 

June 14 — 3Ir. Stanley has issued written orders appointing 
Stairs commandant, Xelson second in command, and myself 
•in medical attendance on the sick. He also directs us that 
when Jephson returns here, in two or three months, we are all 
to go on, and remain with Emin Pasha till his return. He is 
leaving fifty-seven men (invalids) with us in Fort Bodo, and 
about sixty rifles, so that we are bound to have a pretty slow 
time of it, still we are not directly overshadowed by the ogress 
of robbery, starvation, and cannibalism, as we were during our 
: stay at the horrible den at Ipoto. 

June 15 — Xelson was to have gone to the Manyuema camp 
with thirteen men to fetch the boxes left there, but he has an 
inflamed hand, and cannot go : I take his place. 



240 EXPERIEXCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1883.. 



CHAPTER XII. 

LIFE AT FORT BODO. 

I accompany Mr. Stanley to Ipoto — The Makdi men suffer from u guinea- 
worms" — My second meeting with Kilonga Longa — Mr. Stanley com- 
plains of the bad treatment of our Zanzibaris — We hold an important 
shauri with the chiefs respecting Mr. Stanley's agreement — Shocking 
state of the Manyuerna slaves — Final arrangements with the Manyuerna 
— Mr. Stanley's entry in my note-book regarding the rear column, and 
future instructions — Incidents of the return journey to Fort Bodo with 
the loads from Ipoto — Scarcity of food at Kilimani — Arrival at the Fori 
— Xelson and myself are laid up with fever — I hold a post-mortem, 
examination on the body of Saadi Baluzi, who had previously been 
wounded by a poisoned arrow — A great scare in the Fort — Our agri- 
cultural pursuits — Police duty in the plantations — Thefts by dwarfs- 
of our bananas — Villages of the dwarfs — Their cunning — Discontent 
and insubordination in the camp — Troublesome ants — Destruction and' 
theft in our plantations by elephants — Xelson and Stairs down with 
fever — Xatives in our tobacco plantation — Our Zanzibaris are useless 
sentries — Food getting scarce — Terrible sickness in the camp — Filthy 
habits of the Zanzibaris — The circumcision of Kibori — Destruction of 
our boots and clothes by rats — Our men laid up with ulcers — Return, 
of my old complaints, erysipelas and African lever — List of the sick 
in camp with their respective diseases — Our Zanzibaris are great 
schemers and malingerers — I arrange Xelson's and Stairs' medicine' 
chests — Further plundering from our tobacco plot — My boy Muftah a 
terrible liar — I am laid up with inflammation of the lymphatics — 
Death of Hanamri — We kill our last sheep — Anxiety for the Pasha 
and Jephson's arrival — Effects of a violent tornado — Death of Kharnis 
Faragi — Zanzibari custom regarding their sick. 

Jfxe 16.— Mr. Stanley and I left the Fort about 6.30 this- 
morning. I go on as far as the ATanyuema camp for the boxes,. 
as Xelson cannot go on account of his hand. All the men 
looked as " fit " as they could be. We passed a camp close to> 
the banana plantation, also a camp formed by the Warnbutti 
— about 12 o'clock. The elephants are fast eating down our 
bananas. We halted for the night about 4 p.m. 1 often think 
that carrier pigeons would have been very useful on this 
expedition : with their aid we might communicate with the rear 
column ; and, perhaps, save this return journey to Yambuya. 

June 17 — Heavy rain fell to-day. We passed two camps, 
also several clearings, where we found plenty of sweet potatoes,. 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 241 

*he leaves of which make a good inboga. We arrived at Kilimani 
•about 5.30 p.m. ; I had some toasted potatoes for dinner. 

Mr. Stanley told me to-day that his great anxiety will be 
about us at the Fort ; and expressed his hope that he would 
find us at the lake on his return. He said that he would go 
to Yambuya for the rear column, but would go no farther 
— even if the steamers had not come up — as Bonny, Troup, 
and Ward have had time to come up with their men in canoes. 
He will bring the ammunition (twenty-four boxes of Keming- 
ton), several Winchesters and Maxims, and cross Africa with 
them. If Emin Pasha says that he cannot go as there is too 
little ammunition, then Mr. Stanley's crossing will go a long 
way to prove that the Pasha could have got out if he tried. 

June 18. — We stopped all day at Kilimani for bananas. 

June 19. — We marched to a village where I left Stairs and 
the boat. We got a few bananas. 

On returning with my party of fourteen men, I intend 
-marching from here to where I had my luncheon ; then one 
short march to Kilimani, and three more to Ford Bodo. 

June 20. — It rained very heavily last night. We marched 
to a village in an old clearing ; and camped at 5 p.m. We were 
on foot all the time from the start in the morning, as we made 
-no pause for luncheon. I buried a basket of corn in the hut 
where I slept, so that I may unearth it on my return — for the 
use of the improvident Zanzibaris. 

June 21. — We started at daybreak, and marched till 
10.30 A.M. ; through a clearing which lay chiefly through bogs 
and swamps. We camped in Mr. Stanley's former resting- 
place. I am very sick of matemmah porridge three times a-day, 
and am hopefully looking forward to be able to buy some 
chickens, rice, beans, and tobacco at the Manyuema camp. I 
asked Mr. Stanley whether, having regard to the future, it 
would be foolish to refuse a present from the Manyuema chiefs 
who had treated Xelson and myself so badly. He recommended 
me to take whatever they gave. 

June 22. — We marched to an old clearing, within three 

hours of the Manyuema camp. Fortunately, there has been no 

rain on this march, as I have no tent with me. I have to sleep 

under a hut erected by my fourteen men, and finished within 

.an hour after my arrival in camp. One of the Mahdi men 

•came to me having a white worm, forty inches long, protruding 



242 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

from the skin of the dorsum of his thumb. I twisted it on a 
slender rounded piece of stick ; and, by using gentle traction in 
this way, got out two feet more : it then broke. This was a 
" guinea worm." Dracancidus (vel filaria) medinensis, and is 
very common among the Mahdi men. When examined in its 
place under the skin, it feels like a hard round cord. Its first 
ajypearance is like that of a small boil, but somewhat flatter,. 
and more livid in colour [the colour was, however, influenced 
by that of the skin of the individual in all the cases I have 
seen ; they were all of the 3Iahdi tribe only] ; when the tumour 
has developed, the concentric, cord-like coil of the parasite can 
be felt through the skin. If left alone, a bulla or abscess 
eventually forms and bursts ; the skin ulcerates, and the parasite 
is discharged. The process is, however, an exceedingly slow one,, 
and the affected individual suffers long from pain and fever. 

June 23. — A bright full moon last night ! We started at 
6.30 A.M., and arrived at the Manyuema camp at 11 A.M. Mr- 
Stanley had already arrived, and was sitting on the barazan of" 
Kilonga Longa's hut : some chiefs were squatting around. On 
my appearance, all the black men got up and came forward to 
meet me, and made their salaams. Kilonga Longa asked me 
if I was ill ; this, I knew by his subsequent conversation, was to 
introduce a contrast between my present appearance and what 
it had been when I left his camp. He said that I was fat and 
well then ! He presented two milch goats and two kids to Mr- 
Stanley ; also twenty cups of rice, and a large basket of the grain 
with the husk still on. [Some of this rice I brought with me 
to Fort Bodo to plant there.] Kilonga Longa also sent a. 
large basket of rice, with the husk on, for myself. I gave him 
some tobacco as a present. 

In the afternoon, Mr. Stanley abused the 3Ianyuema pretty 
strongly for — as he directly put it — killing our poor Zanzibaris. 
Kilonga Longa came up to him after the discussion of this 
subject had terminated, and implored him not to tell the Sultan 
of Zanzibar of the cruelties that had been practised on the men 
during their stay with them, or of their treatment of Nelson 
and myself. 

The loads were all handed over correctly to me by the 
3Ianyuema, excepting one saddle ; which may not, however,, 
have been handed in, although I had left it at my tent door- 
when leaving the camp. 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 213 

June 24. — To-day an important slianri was held with the 
Manyaema chiefs ; an endless profusion of lying was therein 
displayed. Ismailia had the brazen audacity to assert that he 
gave ns food every day : also that he gave food to the men. 
Our men were then called, and denied these statements in the 
strongest terms. Ismailia even carried his testimony further. 
and affirmed that I had killed a Zanzibari named Mdbruki: he 
also persisted in asserting that he had given us food every day. 
I said rt every ten days." Ismailia said that he had given us 
all necessary food, and that it was all ~buV.se (gratuitous) on his 
part, as he did not make the agreement. 

Khamisi and Sangarameni were away on suffari, so that they 
had no part in this shauri. 

I gave my men each a rifle, and eleven rounds of ammunition ; 
and started on my return journey to Fort Boclo at 3 p.m., with 
the loads which had been left at the 3Ianyuema camp : forty- 
eight rifles, one bag, one box, one portmanteau, one saddle, one 
tent (with poles), a 3Iaxim shield, one box of Eemington 
ammunition, one box of rice ; a female dwarf, whose freedom I 
had purchased for a handful of beans, twelve cups of rice, and 
six cups of corn, now became my valet. I had no one else to 
carry my food ; as I was obliged to take an extra box which 
Muftah had to carry, so that we were all loaded. 

The Hanyuema slaves look starved and are covered with 
ulcers, forming a deplorable spectacle. These ulcers appear to 
be contagious, as they spread rapidly among the men. They 
tend to penetrate through the soft parts down to the bone ; and. 
when they come to involve the periosteum, the bone always 
dies, and undergoes a process of exfoliation. 

The presence of the enormous profusion of dead and dying* 
vegetable matter appears to have a specially pernicious effect 
on the progress of these ulcers, and seemed, indeed, to be the 
prime factor in the genesis of the epidemic of them that we 
have had to deal with in our forest life. All the men belonsdno- 
to us who had been left behind at the Manyuema camp have- 
died (except Sherif) ; their names were Kmaroni, Feruzi,. 
and Dualla. Kilonga Longa produced a receipt from Stairs, 
containing the statement that Xelson, and myself had sold 
eight rifles for food. 

Kilonga Longa returned thirteen rifles to Mr. Stanley, two 
were handed back to him, as Stairs had already presented them 

B 2 



244 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. 



[1888 



to Kilonga Longa. Mr. Stanley brings the others with him, as 
there are 120 of the rear-column unarmed. 

June 25. — I marched through two boat camps ; and 
stopped about twelve o'clock, in the third boat camp. Mr. 
Stanley's last camp was passed at eleven o'clock. 

Mr. Stanley got back his valuable watch and chain from the 
Manyuema chiefs, and arranged to settle his account with them 
for sixty doti of cloth (inferior calico) in payment of the 
services rendered in fetching the boxes from Nelson's starvation 
camp, and for giving guides for fifteen camps ahead; also 
thirty doti for (not) feeding Nelson and myself, with our 
Zanzibaris. This payment of ninety doti was formally accepted, 
instead of the two and a half bales which had been originally 
agreed to. 

Before parting from me to go towards Yambuya in search of 
JBarttelot, Mr. Stanley made the following entry in my note-book 
—dated, 24th June 1888 :— 

Memoranda. 

1st. Supposing that the steamer Stanley was fortunate in her voyage, 
she will have reached Yambuya about the middle of August 1887 ; and, say 
ten days later, the Major has begun to transport goods to Yankonde, the 
next settlement ; in twelve days he will have finished the transport. If he 
has advanced all along the road at this rate, he will have reached by 1st of 
September, 1888, Mugwye's. If he has taken sixteen days to make one of our 
camps, then he has made twenty-two camps, and has reached the place where 
Abdullah, the Nubian, left his rifle, and Stairs, who was on rear-guard, 
picked it up. It is probable that about that place I will find him, supposing 
the steamer Stanley fortunate. 

2nd. Supposing the Stanley unfortunate and wrecked, and say three 
months transpired before other steamers were procured, then up to 1st Sep- 
tember will be nine months, and he has made two of our camps per month, 
and we may find the Major at about the first cluster of large villages we met. 

3rd. Supposing six months transpired before the goods were brought up to 
the Major, then we may find him about ten or twelve camps above Yambuya, 
which would be about our third camp after reaching the river, and where the 
" KemiDgtons" were cleaned up. 

4th. Supposing that up to date he still awaits his goods ; why, then, we 
will find him at Yambuya itself unable to move, because 128 men under 
Ward and Bonny, and the goods under Troup, have not yet arrived. In this 
case the position is serious; but remediable provided the Major has not 
diminished his force by search of aid. If the Major has 40 Nubians, 
5 Somalis, and say 60 Zanzibaris, we have 100 men added to our force of 
111 Zanzibaris with me and 50 with you at " Fort Bodo," total 261 — quite 
sufficient, if well armed, to drive through to Zanzibar unaided by anyone. 
The goods left at Yambuya under the Major's care were : — 



1888.] 



LIFE AT FORT BODO. 



245 



12 loads . 






24 „ 






24 „ 






38 „ 






22 „ . 






15 „ 






1 load 






1 „ 






15 loads 






152 loads. 







Stanley's general baggage. 
Provisions, European. 
Eemington cartridges. 
AVinchester „ 
Maxim „ 

Brass rods. 
Tobacco. 
Cowries. 
Officers' baggage. 



Eice, biscuits, salt, &c, &c. 

To carry which we hope to have 220 carriers on arriving there. 
As regards Remington ammunition, then, we shall have; if the fourth 
proposition is the reality — 



31 boxes . 


Reining 


tons delivered to Emin Pasha 


22 „ . 


• 55 


at Fort Bodo. 


5 „ . 


• 55 


with me. 


20 „ . 


55 


at Yambuya. 


11 (?) boxes 


55 


buried at Nelson's camp. 


89 boxes — total of Eemingtons. 




2 „ . 


Winchesters with the Pasha. 


4 „ . 


55 


at Fort Bodo. 


1 box 


55 


with me. 


38 boxes . 


55 


at Yambuya. 


7 „ 


Maxims at Fort Bodo. 


22 „ . 


55 


at Yambuya. 



163 boxes of cartridges. 



This ammunition is enough for all purposes of bringing away Emin 
Pasha, if this supply is our sole reliance. 

Thus far I have resolved that if the Major has been left at Yambuya all 
this time without aid from Stanley Pool : to bring him away, his men 
and goods, and do without Troup, Ward, Bonny, and their 128 men, though 
it will be a huge misfortune not to have cloth and beads. But in case of this 
last and final proposition being correct, it is our only resource if we wish to 
leave Africa at all. To go down to Stanley Pool is totally out of the 
question. 

H. M. Stanley. 



N.B. — Lest there be no more ammunition "Eemingtons" than those 
boxes left by me at Yambuya (twenty-four), it behoves us to be most careful 
not to waste any shots by salutes or firing at targets, fowls, goats, &c, &c. 
Considering the long silence of our twenty carriers it is well to prepare ourselves 
for the last and darkest condition of things. I have done so, and show you 
what may be done by us if such turns out to be a reality. At the same time 
we hope intensely that things are not quite so bad as all that. Go on 
planting corn, the rains have well begun. We send you some rice also for 
planting. Plant, sow, and plant, as though you were going to make a long 
stay at Fort Bodo. If Jephson comes, well, you can go along with him. If 
Jepbson does not turn up, you have abundance of food for yourselves. 



246 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

Let us all each one do his duty in the best possible manner, heaitily and 
hopefully, you at Fort Bodo with your garrison, I with ray people, and things 
will come right in the end. 

Hexet M. Stanley. 
To— 

Lieut. Starrs, Captain Xelson and Dr. Parke, &c, &c. 

June 26. — We marched a few huiidred yards beyond the 
next boat camp, and camped at noon at the verge of a banana 
plantation ; so as to give the men an opportunity of obtaining 
a supply of food. The men called this camp Longoli. We 
got no food, however, but had a shindy with the natives. 

June 27. — We passed Mr. Stanley's second last camp, where 
Wadi Osman lost his way. At 11 o'clock we halted for terekeso 
(luncheon) ; camped at 2 P.M., at an old boat camp. Khaniis, 
who is carrying the Maxim shield, did not come up when the 
others had gathered into camp ; so I sent Edi, Khaniis Xasibo 
and Sudi back for him. They returned without him, in three 
hours ; they said they had been to the place where we had 
had our terekeso (one and a half hour's walk), and stopped 
there and shouted as loudly as they could, but got no answer, 
and saw nobody. As I did not believe their story, I ordered 
them back again to find Khamis ; they went off in very bad 
humour ! 

June 28. — The three men, whom I sent off last eveniDg to 
search for Khamis, did not return during the night ; so I went 
with two men, early in the morning, to search for him and 
them. After half an hour's walk, I saw the three whom 
I had sent out coming strolling towards me. When I met 
them they told me a long story about having followed 
Washenzi while on the search for Khamis, and having failed to 
find him. I then brought on all five men with me, and, after 
passing ]\Tr. Stanley's old camp, I came upon Khamis, who 
was sitting with an Mshenzi before a fire. It turned out that 
he had spontaneously gone on an expedition by himself, and 
failed to get back. He was thoroughly exhausted, so I was 
obliged to have himself and the shield carried to the cainp — 
another illustration of African reliability. 

We are very badly off for food, having now found none for 
the last four days. I hope, however, to find the supply of corn, 
which I interred in the floor of one of the huts, when we were 
on our way back to the Manyuema camp. 

June 29. — We left early, and marched on to 3Ir. Stanley's 



1883.] LIFE AT FORT BOJDO. 247 

third last cainp, where I found the buried com which I had 
left there as a precaution. So I was able to give two cups of 
■corn to each man ; and three each to my boy, and Monbuttu 
ft dwarf.' 9 

We halted at 2.30 r.M., and camped for the night. 

June 30. — Marched early, and halted, where I left Stairs 
with the boat. Khamis again broke clown, and I was obliged 
to have his load of three rifles carried for him. I was in the 
Tear, so I sent on word to Wadi Osman my chief, to stop and 
take the rifles, as two of the three belonged to his men. But 
the wretch paid no attention, and went on — a good specimen 
■of Zanzibari discipline. So I had to carry the rifles myself; 
.and, on reaching camp, I used some gentle remonstrance with 
Wadi Osman with my fist, after which he became very 
submissive, and would do whatever I asked without a murmur 
•of dissent. 

July 1. — We marched from Mabanti to a banana plantation ; 
where the men were gratified by getting a plentiful supply of 
Indian corn. Khamis did not arrive at camp last night, so I sent 
•out two men to search for him, but they returned after a couple 
of hours, saying that they had searched everywhere along the 
path, and could not find him. This account I did not, how- 
ever, believe, as they were very reluctant and timid about 
.going. If they had retraced our line of march for half an 
hour, I believe that they would have found liim — dead or 
.alive. 

All my men are now confirmed goee-goees (too lazy to do any- 
thing), and wagonjwa (sickly). 

July 2. — Khamis did not turn up, so that I think he must 
ihave died ; the poor creature had been wasted to a mere skeleton. 
We marched three and a half hours — to Kilimani — to-day. 
All my loads are still correct, although my twelve carriers are 
perfect goee-goees, and the two Mahclis have a guinea-worm 
■each. The Monbuttu (dwarf) w^oman is worth any four of my 
men now. 

We remained all day at Kilimani. Only a few men went to 
-search for food, although I told them all to make what provi- 
sion they could for marching on to-morrow. But they have no 
forethought — none : the observation that the black man at any 
.age is still but a grown-up child is, in my experience, critically 
-accurate ; and, although an interesting fact to the psychologist 



248 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [18898 

and the ethnologist, is a most provoking peculiarity to have it 
to deal with under circumstances like the present. 

July 3. — I made an early start, as I intended to march 
without delay. When I gave the order to fall in, there was a 
general muttering grumble from every one of the huts ; the 
men said that they were not able to start to-day, so I was 
obliged to postpone the advance till to-morrow. This was the 
result of their not having gone for food yesterday, as I had 
wished them to do ; considerably less than half the number had 
made the smallest effort to procure anything for themselves. 
Accordingly I told off a party to fetch bananas, whicli were 
to be found in plenty at a distance of not more than a fern 
hundred yards; but as soon as my back was turned they 
sneaked into their huts again! I was greatly provoked, and I 
often think they are not worth keeping at all. 

My Monbuttu woman amused herself this morning by 
picking insects off a child's head, and eating them — just as a 
monkey would do. 

At 5 p.m. Baluzi returned to camp, having received a very 
bad penetrating arrow-wound of the back (on the right side), 
The point had obviously passed deep into the substance of the 
right lung. The men who were with him say that they 
removed the arrow-shaft, but that it had broken short at the 
head, so that the barbed iron point is embedded in the lung. 
It is quite out of reach of extraction without having recourse 
to unjustifiable measures. He is a half-witted creature, and 
had lingered behind the others on the way. The natives were 
crouching along the path; and utilised the opportunity of 
letting fly at him, when they saw him separated from his 
comrades. 

The men got plenty of bananas and corn to-day, when I had 
again driven them out to procure them — very much against 
their lazy will, apparently. I started early with all the loads. 
My Monbuttu and all my men were well weighted. My boy 
and myself carried a load of rifles each ; I carried Saadi 
Baluzi's load, as he is very weak. At 2 p.m. some natives 
attacked us on the path, and we had an exciting chase after 
them. "We camped at 2.30 p.m. close to a tongoni, i.e. a 
clearing, where there are plenty of sweet potatoes. Saadi 
Baluzi is no worse. The poor fellow was able to walk toler- 
ably well, although he suffered a good deal from dyspnoea : 



1888.] LIFE AT FOET BODO. 249 

his respiration — with a wounded pleura and lung — is necessarily 
shallow, and accompanied by a good deal of distress. 

July 4. — My pigmy comes from this district. 

July 5. — We marched early, and reached a pigmy camp, 
close to the position of my old camp, which I had used when 
coming from Ipoto with Stairs' relief party. 

July 6. — We reached Fort Bodo about noon, with twelve 
Zanzibari and two Mahdi porters — the latter very sick, the 
former not much stronger — also my boy, and Monbuttu 
woman. The fourteen loads were brought in — all correct. I 
found Stairs and Nelson very " fit." They said that I looked 
pale and worn, &c, but this was merely due to the exertion of 
carrying, and lifting of the loads on to the men's heads, which 
was very fatiguing work. I handed all my stores over to Stairs, 
feeling glad to be relieved of the responsibility, and so far 
satisfied that this small section of my work has been com- 
pleted. 

July 7. — My agricultural experiments are succeeding well 
here. The seeds (brought from Emin Pasha) which were sown 
here are coming up, and doing prosperously. The rice which 
I received from Kilonga Longa will now be planted in a few 
days. 

There was very heavy rain last night, and the room I sleep 
in is deluged with water ; the rain came through in streams 
last night, as the roof has little or no pitch. 

July 8. — I am indulging this evening in a somewhat gloomy 
retrospect. Twenty-nine men had been left with me originally 
at the Manyuema camp, and Dualla (a Somali) was afterwards 
left by Stairs, making a total of thirty. Of this number exactly 
half have now died. Piringani managed to reach Port Bodo, 
with seven skeletons, and but one rifle among them. Nelson 
and myself remained in bed all to-day ; we had both been 
attacked with bad fever. Providence does not appear to intend 
that any nook of Africa should afford us a haven of rest ; 
alternate drenching by rain and combustion by fever fill up 
our present programme. 

July 9. — My fever is somewhat better to-day, but I am not 
able to do much. 

July 10-14. — Stairs has done much to improve the fort, 
and farming at the settlement has been so far successful. 

July 15. — Saadi Baluzi, who had been wounded at Kilimani, 



-250 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

died last night. I made a post-mortem to-day. I found that 
the head of the arrow had grazed the base of the ris:ht lun^ on 
penetrating the chest ; and had then lodged in the diaphragm, 
close to the edge of the cordiform tendon, through which the 
point had passed. The right lung was completely collapsed, 
and the pleural cavity entirely filled with a reddish fluid, a 
considerable proportion of which was clotted : the remainder 
was fluid. This large collection of fluid was, of course, partly 
due to the ha?inothorax, which resulted immediately on the 
occurrence of the penetrating wound, and partly due to the 
serous effusion which resulted from the necessary complication 
of pleuritis. Seeing this state of things, I had, of course, 
the melancholy comfort that nothing which I could have done 
for him would have saved him : for an operation to remove that 
.arrow-head would simply have freely laid open the depths of 
both thoracic and abdominal cavities, and would in itself have 
been necessarily fatal. The wonder was that the poor mau 
had been able to live (and even to march with the rest) for 
eleven days. He had, of course, suffered greatly from dyspnoea, 
but the inflammatory fever which followed the wound had 
never been very high. This is explained by the fact that 
there was little appreciable evidence of inflammation of any 
ether organ or structure than the pleura, and the pyrexia of 
serous inflammations is characteristically moderate. There 
was hardly any pneumonia, the occurrence of which would, 
of course, have produced a much higher temperature ; but the 
lung substance was very little torn. 

There was a great scare in the Fort at 11.30 a.m. : two shots 
were fired in quick succession close by, and a number of wild 
natives were shouting fiercely in the bush around the Fort. 
At this time all our men were away a'ettimr bananas, with the 
exception of five or six of the most emaciated of our skeletons, 
who were not able even to crawl about. The Fort is always 
deserted on Sundays, as we s;ive the men a holiday on the 
Sabbath. This fact led us to believe that the savages, having 
probably ascertained our unprepared situation, had planned an 
attack upon us, while having nobody but our boys and a few 
sick men about the place. The alarm, however, soon subsided, 
as the noise suddenly stopped. Half an hour afterwards one 
of our men returned, and told us that he had shot at natives, 
.amongst the bananas, but had missed them. A typical 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BOBO. 251 

Zanzibari marksman ! The majority of these people are really 
the most harmless in the world to entrust with a rifle. 

July 16-18. — We are busily engaged in our agricultural 
pursuits, rapidly planting our crops, as the rainy season began 
with the month of July. There are two rainy seasons here, 
the first in February, the second in July ; it is during these 
seasons that grain must be planted. As we are in fairly good 
time, we do not fear that our crops will not be abundantly 
watered ; we have only to hope that a beneficent Providence 
will give the increase accordingly. 

July 19. — I went on ruga-ruga (police duty) with seven 
men to-day, to scare off the Washenzi, and prevent them from 
stealing our bananas, as they have been systematically doing. 
I left at 7 A.M., and returned at 4 p.:\l, having been on foot all 
the time. I went in a south-westerly direction, and did find 
some dwarfs stealing bananas. I fired some shots, and scared 
them away. Xo one, however, was wounded, as they were all 
.able to make off with great speed. We reached a pigmy 
village, and found a large game net, about fifty yards in 
length, and beautifully woven. The meshes are of about 
the same size as those of a strong fishing: net. Thev are 
made of bark and grass. I also secured several quivers, well 
tilled with poisoned arrows, which I burned there and then ; 
also a number of bows with them. When I saw that the 
village upon which we came was of considerable extent — or, 
rather, that it was the first of a long chain of pigmy villages — ■ 
I hastily retraced my steps with my men, as it was not exactly 
a desirable neighbourhood to loiter in — with but seven 
followers, while hundreds of cannibal natives prowled about, 
armed with poisoned arrows. The only meat 1 found was a 
dried monkev. On our return through the bush, we were 
closely followed by the natives ; who tried to get in front of our 
party, and cut off our retreat. They wounded one of my men, 
Ali Jumba, with an arrow, but not seriously. At the entrance 
•of our banana plantation, I remained behind for a while with 
two of my men, under cover of two large trees ; and waited for 
the natives to come on, but they were too wary for this, and 
declined to avail themselves of my intentions. They would 
not come directly forwards, but turned in among the bananas 
so as to intercept us ; but we, in our turn, evaded their device, 
by taking a path in another direction. 



252 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888, 

This police work is absolutely necessary for self-preser- 
vation, as without it we cannot protect our banana planta- 
tion till Mr. Stanley's return. It is excessively dangerous 
work too, for the aborigines suddenly get on the logs which 
are lying about everywhere in the forest, and throw a poisoned 
arrow into one with the speed of lightning. If such a weapon 
penetrate at all deeply, not all the powers of man can save the 
individual who has been hit. All our men now wear buffalo- 
shields which we have brought from the plain ; but the officers 
have not adopted them yet ; as we are vain enough to think 
it would look like cowardice. Yet it might be the salvation 
of any of us — any day — to utilise this protective medium. We 
should not, I am disposed to think, pay so much attention 
here to what 3Irs. Grundy will think proper to say at home, if 
we are ever lucky enough to get there. 

These dwarfs are very cunning, and play all sorts of dodging- 
tricks to throw us off their path. They walk for some distance 
along a beaten track, and then suddenly disappear into the 
bush ; then they unite again at considerable distance ahead, and 
send some of the party back along the path towards us, while 
the main body go on towards their village, thereby trying to 
make us believe by their footprints that they are going in the 
opposite direction, and that we are running heel all the time. 

Very heavy rain fell after our return from the ruga-ruga 
to-day. We ordered Fathel Wadi Hadi, who had caught a 
woman, to fetch her to us. This he was, obviously, very 
reluctant to do ; he temporised by saying that she was caught 
by Ali Jumba, which was, of course, untrue. So we told him 
sharply to make no such excuses, but bring her at once. He 
was very slow about it, nevertheless, and stayed to wring his- 
clothes (which, bad been drenched with the rain) before lie 
went. This proceeding annoyed Stairs so much by its insub- 
ordinate display, that he struck him across the right shoulder 
with my stick. The stick broke in this operation, and the iron 
spike scratched the skin of Fathel's left side. The men 
were very rebellious about this, and about fifteen of them 
collected, and inquired if Stairs had really prodded him with 
a spear or not, as Fathel had told them so. Stairs then 
explained to them that he had not struck Fathel deliberately 
at all ; that he had merely punished him for his insubordina- 
tion, and that the wounding by the iron spike was quite 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 253 

accidental. Public opinion immediately went round on 
hearing this version of the affair, and they all vowed that if 
Fathel Wadi Hadi did not openly confess that he had been 
hit with a stick, and not prodded with a spear, they would all 
beat him with sticks to-morrow ! 

July 21. — Nelson went on police duty to-day, but did not see 
.any natives at all. After work, Stairs called the men in to 
give them ten heads of corn each. Sheban Bin Amur stepped 
forward to pick up his share, when Stairs ordered him to fall 
back into his place. Sheban Bin Amur then made some 
mutinous remark, when Stairs immediately struck him. He 
then left the yard, and immediately returned, with a threaten- 
ing aspect, and carrying a large stick. He went on to say 
that Stairs had purposely struck Fathel Wadi Hadi with a 
-spear. Stairs then told him that he would take his name off 
the book forthwith. The men afterwards held a shauri among 
themselves ; and I believe that about thirty of them are very 
•desirous to go on to the Albert Nyanza. I recommended 
•Stairs to give the men a hearing, as they wished to have 
the privilege of shauris to reason out matters which con- 
cerned them so much. So he said he would take my advice. 
He has a very responsible and anxious post as commandant of 
the Fort. I can see that the minds of the men are pretty hot 
»now, and, unless they are judiciously manipulated, we three 
white men will be left to ourselves here to look after the boxes, 
and take care of the other interests of the Expedition. 

July 22. — A good deal of discontent in the camp still. The 
■one great reason of this certainly is that the men are burning 
with desire to go back to the plains, where they know that 
there is plenty of food to be had. 

July 25. — Sheban Bin Amur came up this morning, and 
'begged Stairs to pardon him for the men. When he was 
forgiven, about thirty of the others came up, and fell down 
'before Stairs. This represented the faction which had been 
'taking counsel to desert the Fort, and go off to the lake. 
They crouched along the ground, and kissed the " Master's " 
boots as a mark of penitence. 

We are anxiously looking forward to Sunday, as we intend 
killing a sheep; an event which will, I feel sure, tend to 
promote peace and contentment. On the day of my return 
from the Manyuema camp there were two goats killed, one of 



254 EXPERIENCES IX EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [I™, 

which we ate ; the other we gave to the men. We have three 
sheep remaining, which will give us one a fortnight, in case 
Jephson comes up to time. 

The ants are the most annoying enemy we have to deal with 
here. They come periodically, and take possession of the Fort, 
driving us quite out of doors. The natives capture them in 
great numbers, by making a hole close to an ant-heap, and 
putting a little fire in it at night ; before morning this hole 
will be filled with ants, as they are attracted by the heat- 
They are then brought to camp, pounded up, cooked, and 
eaten, tasting somewhat like caviare. The food so prepared is 
called noussoir. The most palatable variety is that prepared 
from the white ants, which we eat as a hitawayo (condiments 

July 26— Aug. 3.— .... 

Aug. 4. — Last night, a very large elephant came up to 
within twenty yards of the Fort, and ate a great quantity of 
our voune Indian corn, which we had been cono-ratulatins: and 
priding ourselves on having cultivated so successfully. Stairs 
was alarmed by the sentry on duty, who was aroused by the 
disturbance caused by the movements of the unwieldy tres- 
passer, and fired at him with his Eemington. He then 
moved off to a short distance, but stopped there, and com- 
menced to browse on our corn again. The ivory war-horn 
was then blown, which had the immediate effect of causing a 
retreat into the depths of the forest. This happened about 
2 a. 31., and the night was so still and silent that we could 
distinctly hear the movements of the colossal brute as he 
passed into the bush, accompanied by the uprooting of trees,, 
tearing off of branches, and trampling down of the under- 
growth through which he passed. 

These elephants have now commenced tearing down trees, and 
eating up our bananas, in a quite systematic way. This is really 
serious for us, as, if allowed to go on in this fashion, we will, 
at the end of a few weeks, have neither bananas nor corn for 
the men to eat, and there is little chance of any other source of 
supply. So great a source of anxiety has it become, that our one 
great hope now is of the relief, which we are hoping and pray- 
ing that Jephson and Emin Pasha may bring us. We arranged 
with them on the shore of the Xyanza that they would not 
neglect us or forsake us if left for very long in the dejDths of the 
forest, and we do trust that they will take care to redeem their 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 255> 

promises in good time. We have already recommenced the 
life of grazing, as we are living largely on fungi, leaves of the 
pepper plant, and grasses. These, when all pounded together, 
make a sort of spinach (mhoga), which hunger enables us to 
taste with some moderate degree of enjoyment. The corn is- 
still very low ; but we shall have young peas and French 
beans to exist on after a little, if we can keep off the elephants 
and other trespassers. 

I have been ailing with a sore ringer (paronychia) since the 
25th ult., so that I was unable to write in this interval. 

Aug. 5. — I have given my little pigmy carte blanche to visit 
her own people, but she will not leave. 

Aug. 6. — Xelson has been very ill with fever for the last 
few days. Yesterday I gave him 40 grains of quinine ; he is 
somewhat better to-day. I shot two doves yesterday, which 
were a very acceptable addition to our provision store, as we 
have no meat now remaining but two live sheep, and we can 
afford to kill but one of these every fourteen days. 

Aug. 9. — At 1.30 a.m. this morning Stairs came and woke 
me up to go out to the sentry-box, and listen to some noise 
which was going on in the tobacco plantation, that we had 
formed at a distance of but fifteen yards from the boma, 
immediately outside the stockade. We could plainly hear the 
breaking of the stalks of tobacco, but were uncertain as to 
whether some natives had come to do the mischief, or perhaps 
some roaming quadrupeds (antelope or elephant would be the 
most likely of these). One of our men then coughed, and all 
the noise instantlv ceased. In the morning we investigated the 
cause of the nocturnal disturbances, and found the footprints 
of about a dozen natives, who had been wrecking our little 
crop. This is another very serious omen for our future here,, 
as it means that the natives will come and take our corn when 
it is ripe, and perhaps set fire to the place. 

When disturbed last nio-ht we visited the other sentries 
around the fort, and found them all asleep — the usual condition 
of a Zanzibari when placed on the watch. We did not fire a shot 
last night ; we suspected that the trespasser was a bush antelope, 
and we did not want to fire without bemsr able to take crood 
aim, as we are very ambitious to kill one, on account of the 
scarcity of food. Food is growing terribly scanty now ; the 
men are living on wretchedly small bananas, and we have 



256 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

nothing for ourselves but some beans, corn, and mboga. (The 
term mboga includes leaves of trees, tops of bushes, sweet 
potatoes, yams, potato leaves and fungi, all mashed up together, 
so as to form a mess somewhat like spinach.) We are, accord- 
ingly, beseeching Providence that Em in Pasha and Jephson 
will soon come and deliver us. 

Having now had to speak Kiswahili for so long a time, we 
have come to forget many of our ordinary English words ; and 
are often actually confused about the names of things when 
we are talking among ourselves. To-day there was a com- 
petition between Nelson and myself, as to who could remember 
the name " egg " first — pointing at the well-known article. 

Stairs is confined to bed with intermittent fever. I have 
made a bird-cradle, to try and catch some birds for us to eat. 
It is almost impossible for any of us to go out in pursuit of 
game, as there are no men able to accompany us for defence 
against the natives — they are nearly all disabled by enormous 
ulcers. 

Aug. 10.— .... 

Aug. 11. — This morning there were twenty-five badly sick 
among our force of fifty-five. Many of the others are very 
weakly indeed. A good many are malingering too ; the 
Zanzibaris are rather good at this kind of thing. I recom- 
mended Stairs to hoe up the ground around the huts, and 
to have the ash-pit removed further from the camp, as it is 
^filling up fast ; and, above all, to have the inside of each hut 
thoroughly cleaned out at least twice a week, as the habits of 
the Zanzibaris are disgustingly filthy. They scrape holes 
in the floor in which they wash their ulcers ; they vomit and 
expectorate on the floor, and cover the ejecta over with clay. 
I am occasionally treated to the sight of these creatures putting 
their food to boil in the pot in which they have just washed their 
ulcers, and without having taken the trouble of washing it well 
out afterwards, &c, &c. The starting point of these ulcers is 
undoubtedly contagion in many cases; this is conveyed by 
flies, &c, and any parts so affected (as by irritation of fly-bites, 
&c.) immediately becomes the centre of a rapidly spreading ulcer. 

Surely, the sooner we get away from this place the better ; 
food is getting scarcer and scarcer, and whenever the wind 
blows from the west — passing over a swamp which is near 
our camp on that side — it carries the fever poison in among us, 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 257 

and every one of us gets a turn of the " intermittent." I have 
but one boy and a pigmy to look after me, as Mr. Stanley took my 
second boy with him to carry a load, being so short of carriers. 

I had a special surgical operation imposed upon me to-day — 
the circumcision of Kibori (Nelson's boy), who required this 
finishing touch to place him on a par with the Zanzibari boys. 
The institution of this Oriental operation reaches to the most re- 
mote antiquity, more than 2400 years before the Christian era. 

Aug. 13. — The peas and pumpkins are flowering, so that we 
shall soon have vegetables. I have just had a row with my 
boy, Muftah : he is a thoroughly typical Zanzibari — a dirty, 
deceitful, lying, greedy young rascal he is, when he likes. 

We killed a sheep yesterday, so that we are all strong and 
in good humour to-day, having had the chance of digesting 
some good wholesome meat. We are all hugging ourselves 
with the idea that Emin Pasha may soon, send for us, as we 
have but very low rations to live on now. Ten heads of Indian 
corn, ground into meal, are given to each per diem. This meal 
is served up in three ways : when of very thin consistence we call 
it " soup," or " ugee " ; when thicker, merely scalded, it is called 
stodge, or "ugari" ; an intermediate form is known as "porridge." 

Stairs has had continued fever for some clays. Nelson and 
myself have decided to kill the donkeys when food becomes 
much scarcer than it is at present. We have now eaten most 
of the things which the country seems to produce, and we are still 
on our legs to tell the tale ; this recollection should, I suppose, 
help to buoy us up in our present position ; but philosophy is 
often disappointing — when appealed to under the influence of 
an empty stomach, and a frame affected with general debility. 

The rats are devouring everything here ; they have finished 
our home-made boots, and have now commenced our blankets. 
This gives us additional trouble, as the making of a pair 
of boots engrosses all the spare time of a week. We make 
them after the fashion of veldtschoons (Dutch shoes), with 
soles of buffalo, or hippo-hide, and uppers of ox-hide; but 
the stitching is the difficulty. I have known of but one 
instance in which the Zanzibaris have eaten rats ; they do not, 
however, very often catch them. Nelson prepared me a lun- 
cheon yesterday, which would have been worth Is. Qd. at the 
" Metropole," made from small fish, one inch in length, caught 
in baskets in the stream. 

s 



258 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

On Saturday last, I had a list of twenty-five sick ; and, of the 
numerous other members of our force who were seedy, four 
w r ere unable to walk ; so that twenty -nine, out of the fifty-five 
men here, were quite incapable. 

Very heavy rain fell yesterday, which deluged the whole 
place in five minutes. We have built a very fine house for 
Emin Pasha, as we expect that he will stay here for some days 
bug-hunting. To-day Stairs had his tobacco cut and laid out. 
I have no doubt, indeed, that at home in the British Islands it 
could be as well grown and cured as here. 

I am running short of dressing for ulcers ; so I took the 
powder out of a number of my cartridges to-day, and applied 
it as a dressing. It certainly exerted a marked deodorising 
influence, and is also useful in itch-cases after the patient has 
been well rubbed down with a wisp, and sand-and-water. 

Aug. 14. — .... 

Aug. 15. — We sent two men to-day to get some sweet 
potatoes ; they returned early, saying that there were none. 
Another discourao-m^ factor ! So Stairs and mvself tried to 
make ourselves comfortable with a luncheon which consisted 
of half a cup of matammah flour and some French beans. One 
man grinds corn for us three officers, so that we have barely a 
sufficient quantity of meal ; and it is invariably sour before we 
come to cook it. We are afraid to eat much of it ; it is so 
precious now, and our reserve may be exhausted before we can 
get any relief. 

I have some few ulcers on my leg ; my boy, Muftah, has 
some on his gluteal region, so that he has been obliged per- 
manently to relinquish the sitting for the erect posture during 
the day-time. None of us white men have had any fever to- 
day, although some of the men are bad with it. We are now 
so accustomed to the existence of fever with us and around us, 
that we have almost come to regard it as a normal condition, 
and I have given up taking notes of its occurrence. Un- 
doubtedly, the Zanzibaris owe a great deal of their physical 
ill-being to their timidity and laziness, combined with the 
customary filthiness of their habits. 

Aug. 16. — On awaking this morning, I felt the well-known 
sensations, premonitory of a return of my old erysipelas ; and, 
surely enough, when there was sufficient light to see it, there 
was the rosy blush over the left hip, and accompanied by 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 259 

enlargement and tenderness of the inguinal glands on the 
corresponding side. I felt sickish all over, and remained in 
bed. My temperature was, however, still normal ; but, after 
an interval of an hour, I found that it had risen to 102° F., 
and, during the course of the forenoon, it got up to 104° F. 
The fever was of the typical agueish variety, so it is a study 
■of some interest to investigate the connection between the 
local disease and the general pyrexia. Did the erysipelas 
•cause the fever ; or, was the fever a constitutional one with a 
■definite local lesion ? There was a good deal of puffiness under 
rthe eyes, and severe deep-seated lumbar pain. The skin was 
clotted over the affected area with elevated patches like those 
•of urticaria. There was no pitting, however, on pressure. 

Aug. 17. — I remained indoors as much as possible during 
the day. The fever was gone this morning, the puffiness under 
the eyes had diminished, but there was still intense pain over 
the erysipelatous area, accompanied by extreme tenderness. I 
took a large dose of quinine. 

Aug. 18. — Still invalided and remaining indoors.. Nelson 
saw my sick to-day ; but one very bad case was brought into 
my hut for inspection. Of the whole force of fifty-five (men 
and boys) now in camp, about], thirty have ulcers, and three 
of these are simply rotting away. Emin Pasha's house is now 
finished, so that if he does not come we will be doubly dis- 
appointed : having had all this trouble for nothing. Nelson's 
fore-arm is greatly swollen and inflamed from an insect-bite ; 
so I bandaged it up. 

I fell into a grievously bad temper to-day, as is always the 
case when my internal organisation (liver, &c.) is out of order, 
before and after this African fever. It is a symptom which 
always manifests itself, whether the affected individual be 
naturally gifted with a good temper or a bad one. 

Aug. 19. — Stairs and myself have just made out a complete 
list of the sick in camp, with their respective diseases. It is 
as follows : — 

Ulcers "2o 

Debility 2 

Struma ......... 1 

Periostitis. ........ 1 

Iritis ......... 1 

Total . . . .30 

s 2 



260 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

These invalids receive treatment twice every clay ; most of 
them take their turn as sentry, as they are merely required to sit 
at their post for a few hours at a time. So that we have made- 
out a second classification of the total force : — 



Unfit for work ...... 


. 11 


Fit for light work only .... 


. 19 


Officers, o\ 

Boys, 3 / 


. 6- 


Balance (in poor condition) .... 


. 19 


Total 


. 55 



It is very hot to-day, and there has been but little rain for 
some days past. Our Zanzibaris are great schemers and ma- 
lingerers. The members of the latter tribe always convey their 
bodily grievances to Stairs or Nelson, so that they may have- 
a fair chance of getting off work ; they are cunning enough to 
guess that if they came to me they would be detected. The poor 
wretches are certainly eaten up in a dreadful way by these 
horrible ulcers. The fact is that their tissues have no resist- 
ing power — they are nourished on the very poorest diet — the 
great majority getting nothing to eat but small undeveloped 
bananas, while the very weak ones receive a few heads of corn 
as an extra ration. Under these circumstances, the smallest 
abrasion of the surface soon spreads into a great corroding 
ulcer, which rapidly assumes a moist, gangrenous appearance. 
But the worst of these appear to be connected with the bites 
of flies ; and when a fly goes from an ulcerated surface to an 
unbroken one — whether on the same person or another — his 
prolonged stay is sure to be followed by a point of irritation - 7 
from which as centre, the ulcerative process quickly spreads. 

I filled their medicine chests for Stairs and Xelson to- 
day. The former had given away some of his medicine 
bottles to the 3Ianyuema. These medicine chests are very 
handy for the officers when they are separated, and have to> 
do some amateur doctoring, at a distance from me. I gave 
some beef-tea tabloids to three of the invalids to-day, but they 
were " blue-mouldy." 

Aug. 20.— .... 

Aug. 21. — About 11 o'clock last night, the sentries in the 
south-east tower reported the presence of a wild pig outside 
the boma, or stockade. On closer inspection by Stairs, it 






1888] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 261 

turned out that about a score of natives were in our tobacco- 
plot stealing our little crop of the weed. Seven or eight shots 
were at once fired, and two of the natives were shot dead ; 
•the remainder ran off in different directions. After a short 
time, they commenced calling to each other ; in order, I 
suppose, to find out who had been hurt. One of the natives 
who had been killed by our shots was a circumcised individual. 
We found, when morning allowed us to explore the neighbour- 
hood, eight baskets of sweet potatoes at the end of the Kavalli 
road : they were close to a fire, where some of the natives had 
evidently been making themselves comfortable while they 
waited for the foraging party, and from which they had taken 
to their heels on hearing the shots. 

Last night's adventure will, I expect, keep us clear of plun- 
dering natives for some time to come. Many of them left 
their bows and arrows behind when they ran off; they will 
probably be afraid to return for them now, and we will have 
less to fear. 

Aug. 22. — Nelson's birthday. The poor fellow is very seedy 
to-day ; and our surroundings and immediate expectations are 
not such as would tend to brighten any one's birthday very 
much. Stairs had all the huts swept out to-day — the Zan- 
zibaris are most abominably filthy in their habits, a fact which 
is re-impressed upon me more forcibly every day. There are 
twenty-three sick this morning — out of our total force of fifty- 
five. This indicates some improvement. 

Aug. 23. — It is exactly three months to-day since I left the 
Nyanza ; so that I think Emin Pasha should soon be here. 
I was obliged to lie all day in bed yesterday, as I had an 
inflamed leg and high fever. My boy, Muftah, like all the 
Zanzibaris I have met, is a most terrible liar. He is supposed 
to go every clay to look at the bird-trap. I asked him 
yesterday, " Have you seen the bird-trap ? " He at once 
answered, " Oh, yes, master ! " I asked, " Where is it ? " 
The prompt reply was, " It is in the same place." I said, 
angrily, " You lie ! " — I had removed the thing two days ago ; 
nevertheless he would argue confidently with me that he had 
seen it every morning, although I had detected him in the 
falsehood. 

Aug. 24.— .... 

Aug. 25. — I have been obliged to lie down during the 



262 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

greater part of the day on account of the state of my leg. I 
have inflammation of the lymphatics (angeiolencitis) all the 
way up the front of my right shin — from the instep to the 
knee. It is terribly painful ; and, in my present shaky con- 
dition, has been enough to complete my prostration. Hanamri 
died to-day. He was a weakly lad, whose system had been 
thorough]y undermined by the starvation which he had suf- 
fered. He retained just strength enough to reach this place 
from Ugarrowwa's camp. He had on his left foot and leg. 
the worst gangrenous ulcer I have ever seen ; it extended from 
the bases of the toes to above his ankle, and was rapidly 
spreading up the front of the leg. The discharge was very 
offensive, and the sloughing process had extended through the- 
soft parts ; destroying the connective tissue and muscles down 
to the bone, and dissecting out the tendons, vessels and 
nerves. The man seemed to be a thorough fatalist ; he' 
emphatically declared he knew that he would die, and he kept 
his word. I do believe that the unflinching opinion which 
he held on the subject was an important factor in the verification 
of his prediction. 

The average daily number of sick attended now is twenty. 

Aug. 26. — We killed our last sheep to-day, and when this 
is finished we are condemned to live without meat till either 
Mr. Stanley or Em in Pasha arrives. Since my return from 
Kilonga Longa's camp, on the 6th of June last, I have not 
quite averaged one meal of meat per week. The Zanzibaris 
have broken into our garden, and stolen the few onions I 
brought from the lake. All our men are now off collecting 
bananas, and everything else they can get in the shape of food. 
It was on this day twelvemonth I amputated Juma's foot ; he 
is now fat and strong, and on his way down river in a canoe 
— from Ugarrowwa's — as he is unable to walk, nobody having 
been handy enough to make him a wooden leg. 

Aug. 28. — We finished the last of our meat to-day. We 
have had a plate of peas — grown from the seeds which the 
Pasha gave me at the Nyanza. He also gave me brinjals, 
water-melons, and pumpkins, all of which are very poor, and 
not yet fully formed ; the onions were planted at the same time 
as the peas — about the 10th of June — but they are not fully 
formed as yet. The bulb is not developed, and the stalk is 
but three or four inches long. We shall now have to live by 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 263 

grazing — until Jephson and the Pasha come. It is a curious 
country this, in our experience of it — we eat the leaves and 
tops of every green shrub and grass about the place, and, as yet, 
with impunity. 

Aug. 29.— .... 

Aug. 30. — Bin Shumari was caught last night in the act of 
stealing beans and corn. He got " twenty " with a rod this 
morning. 

I had gruel for luncheon to-day, also gruel for dinner. It 
was, on each occasion, spiced with some capsicum ; so that the 
flavour might diminish its mawkishness a little. We had 
picked the small red pepper-pods — chillies — of about a quarter 
of an inch in length, dried, and powdered them. The pepper 
so freshly prepared is, certainly, very hot. The shrub itself is 
about five feet in height ; its leaves make a good spinach. 

At T.30 p.m. a violent tornado swept over the fort ; followed 
by torrents of rain and hail. The hailstones had an average 
diameter of half an inch. The roofs of some of our houses 
were blown clean off, many trees were prostrated around our 
encampment ; everything looks wrecked and desolate since the 
storm blew over. 

Aug. 31. — Stairs had bad fever to-day. The men are 
allowed a holiday to try to put their huts into repair — after the 
ravages of yesterday's storm. Our promising field of corn has 
been completely prostrated by the terrible hurricane and 
ponderous hailstones ; it is hopelessly spoilt. It is a serious 
outlook for us, poor sojourners in the land as we are : all our 
crops are wrecked, the brinjals and melons are smashed to 
pieces ; the onion-stalks have been broken off by the hail ; the 
tobacco-leaves also have been broken off by the falling stones, 
many of them neatly perforated. The men say that the corn 
may rise again after a hot sun ; but at least half the crop- has 
been hopelessly lacerated, which is very disheartening. 
Xelson tells me that when he was ostrich-farming in South 
Africa, he saw hailstones penetrate corrugated zinc roofs in 
their fall, and kill ostriches in the sheds beneath. 

Sept. 1. — There was a very hot sun to-day. The corn is 
looking a little better ; some of it again tends to the upright 
position ; but a large proportion of the stalks have been utterly 
broken, and can never raise their heads again. The men are 
constantly dreaming about Emin Pasha's coming ; some of 



264 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

thein said this morning that he was certain to arrive to-day. 
They seem to be great believers in vague spiritual impres- 
sions of various kinds. 

Sept. 2.— . . . . 

Sept. 3. — Khamis Faragi died last night ; the poor fellow's 
death was a great relief, as his case had long been utterly 
hopeless, and he had to be looked after in every way — food, 
wood, fire, water, &c, &c, had to be provided for him. His 
vitality was indeed — like that of the other invalid Zanzibaris 
whom I have had to treat — perfectly astonishing ; I do not 
think that the poor fellow had three pounds of solid flesh on 
his body. He was one of the lean kine who had returned to 
us from Ugarrowwa's camp, and since that date he had existed, 
literally as a living skeleton, whose bones were held together 
by skin and ligament — a more melancholy spectacle I can 
hardly conceive. 

The usual custom of the Zanzibaris when one of them 
becomes very ill indeed— especially if the disease happens to 
be a foul ulcer, or some other complaint likely to excite 
disgust, and he becomes entirely unable to help himself — is 
that the poor invalid is utterly deserted by his comrades, and 
abandoned in a separate hut, to live or die alone. It is 
certainly one of the shabbiest moral features of the tribe, as 
there is a great deal of kindness among them when all are able 
to go about together. 



( 265 ) 



CHAPTER XIII. 

LIFE AT FOET BODO. 

Anxiety of the men to get back to the plains — Ali Jumba's proposals — 
We hold a council, and agree that to evacuate the fort would be fatal 
— The mischief-making clique of Zanzibaris — Eecent events do not 
improve our powers of mutual forbearance — Scarcity of idols in Central 
Africa — Xinety-nine per cent, of our Zanzibaris have had ulcers — 
Mohammed A. and Nubian boy lost in the forest whilst foraging — 
Their probable fate — Porridge made from bananas — List of European 
provisions for the officers of the Expedition taken from Yambuya — 
Unsuccessful food expeditions — My boy captures some fish : flat worms 
in the same — Sufferings of the Mahdi men from " guinea- worms " : 
their description and growth — Annoyance of rats at night-time — The 
men's latrine at the fort — Garden plots — The first pumpkin of our 
own growth — The ascaris lumbricoides — Eesult of our want of exercise 
— Nelson, Stairs and myself down with fever and its accompanying 
ailments — Our beautiful white teeth due to the lack of albuminous 
food — A Zanzibari tooth-brush — Thoughts of home — Stairs ill with an 
anthracoid sore — Hopes for Stanley's early arrival — Our boys capture 
a snake — Respective weights of Xelson, Stairs, and myself compared 
with former records — Damage by elephants to our plantation — Cooking 
utensils of the natives — My little pigmy woman pays great attention 
to me — We enjoy the ni^ht air — Condition of the crops. 

Sept. 5. — Ali Juniba came to Stairs yesterday, and told him 
that all the men had held a shanri ; and had unanimously 
expressed their great anxiety to get to the plains. He came 
as their representative, and made two proposals, as the men 
were growing impatient of the long wait for Emin Pasha, and 
had but wretchedly poor food to eat : first, that fifteen of the 
strongest men of the force would go with one white officer to 
the edge of the bush, and, if they found the natives friendly, 
they would push on with a letter to Emin asking him to come 
and relieve us at the fort — i.e., to assist us to carry the loads to 
the lake : if the natives were inclined to show fio-ht thev would 
try and bribe a friendly native to carry the letter through to 
Emin, and then retire. The second proposition was, that all 
the men would evacuate this fort completely ; conveying the 
loads by double journeys till they arrived at a good banana 
plantation, where they would make a boina. and remain until 



26(3 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888- 

relieved by either Ernin or Mr. Stanley. These proposals are 
made by the men, as they say that they can get little or no 
food here ; and must necessarily die of starvation if some such 
move is not made. On receiving this communication, Stairs.,. 
Nelson and myself, held our council, and unanimously agreed 
that it would be fatal for us to move from here. The men 
have a fair quantity of bananas for making ugari (scalded 
banana meal, of a thick consistence) — and being well fortified,, 
we can easily hold this place against any attack which the 
natives are likely to make on it. Besides, the first proposi- 
tion is simply an impossible one to carry out, as so small a 
body of men could never reach the lake — they would be 
chingered (throats cut) on the way ; also, even if they were- 
fortunate enough to escape all probable difficulties, when they 
reached the lake, if the white officer said come back, they 
would certainly say, " No ; we go on a la Zanzibar ; " the 
natives would appear friendly, and invite them to sit down, eat,, 
and be merry — the Wangwana would forget, and say "All 
right ; " and, after a little, when they least expected and all 
suspicion had been disarmed, the natives would spear the 
whole lot. The second proposition is also impossible, as the- 
men would have to make at least four trips for one day's- 
journey forwards, which they would never be able to 
accomplish ; also, there are not sufficient men for two guards,, 
and there is no food between this place and the plains. On 
the other hand, by remaining here they are sure of being- 
relieved sooner or later — a source of salvation which they 
might actually miss by migrating to another locality ; also,. 
they will have rations of corn available for their use from the 
1st of October — the corn already in the bin will furnish them 
with three heads a day ; and the green corn will be fit for 
cooking by the end of October. Hamis Pari, the Muniapara, 
says that they want to get the taste of meat, and to have 
nothing to do but eat meat and other good things on the 
shore of the Albert Nyanza with Emin Pasha. They are all 
a discontented, bad lot ; but they are also badly treated, as 
they should certainly have been relieved before now — by His 
Excellency the Pasha, and Jephson. 

Sept. 6. — It is just two months to-day, since I returned from 
the Manyuema camp. When the men fell in this morning, 
Stairs told them that Ali Jumba's proposals were out of the 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 267' 

question; and that they should all stay at the fort till relieved. 
Wadi Asrnani, another Muniapara, agreed, and all the others 
were silent and seemed to acquiesce, excepting Ali Jumba and 
Fetteh. The latter said that there was no food ahead of us 
where a boma could be made so as to allow us to remain till 
Stanley came up. Ali Jumba then said, " Fetteh, why don't 
you come forward, as it was you who told me to ask the 
mazungu (white man)." None did, however, come forward in 
response to Ali's appeal. The mischief-making clique consists 
of Ali Jumba, Tabebu, Fetteh, Msomgese and Kasembi. 

Nelson has been sick both yesterday and to-day. We are 
all growing supersensitive here — close quarters in the heart 
of the dense forest, with scorching sun, impure air, and recurrent 
attacks of malarial fever are not improving our powers of 
mutual forbearance. 

Sept. 7. — To-day I strolled a considerable distance into the- 
forest to try and get a shot, as we have no meat of any kind ; 
but I had no luck. After our dinner of Indian meal, gruel 
and mboga, Nelson, Stairs and myself, sometimes spend the- 
evening talking about mutton chops, steaks and pastry. I 
believe we are capable of eating any hind of animal food just 
now, and I am sure we will astonish the passengers on board 
the British India Steamship Navigation Company's steamer 
when we are returning home. 

I have not seen a single idol since I entered the forest ; the- 
natives in Central Africa do not seem to worship anything in 
the heavens above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters 
under the earth. On one occasion, at Kavalli's — on the day 
on which I returned from the lake, after starting Jephson off' 
in the boat to find the Pasha — the natives requested me to ask 
Mr. Stanley to give them rain for their crops ; a suggestion. 
which enlisted his immediate attention. On the Congo, I 
frequently saw wooden figures used as idols. 

Last night the men caught a little native girl stealing a 
fish-basket. 

I think I am right in saying that ninety-nine per cent, of 
our Zanzibaris have had ulcers ; and of all these so affected,, 
ninety-nine per cent, have had ulcers below the knee. We 
white men have had our share too ; but the Zanzibaris yield 
so much more easily to all forms of pathological action. — for 
not only is it that their tissues, from prolonged exposure and 



268 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

starvation, have lost their resisting power ; but the individuals 
are so apathetic and so fatalistic, that they make no effort 
to shake off the attack, which they attribute to an unseen 
agency ; and if they make up their minds that they are going 
to the bad, I hardly think that anything will prevent them. 

Sept. 8. — Nelson is down with fever to-day — temperature 
105° F. Every night we sit outside our huts and watch 
the firmament, as the sky is beautifully bright and star- 
light. The Southern Cross is always very distinct, and we 
frequently see Venus between the horns of the moon — making 
" the crescent and the star." 

Sept. 9. — Mohammed A., the Nubian Shouish (Sergeant), 
went off to-day for bananas, and has not yet returned. Fadel, 
the Nubian boy, has gone with him. Nelson's fever is better, 
but my temperature is 104° F. ; somebody is always keeping 
up the running in this pyrexial show. It might be somewhat 
endurable if we had good attendants, and an appreciative 
audience, but w r e unfortunately have neither the one nor the 
other. 

Sept. 10. — Mohammed A. and the boy not yet returned. 
My fever same as yesterday. 

Sept. 11. — Mohammed A. (vel Mohammed Zebir) and boy 
have not yet returned. Ten men armed with rifles were sent 
out to-day to search for them. It is very easy to lose one's 
way in the forest, unless the trees are blazed as one goes 
along. Once lost, getting back again is all a matter of luck, 
as you cannot see the sun through the dense foliage. If you 
turn a Zanzibari round on his own vertical axis three or four 
times in the bush, he ceases to know in what direction he 
should make for home. I expect that by this time the 
natives have had a good feed off Mohammed A. and the 
boy ; as all the inhabitants of the bush are cannibals, their 
" banquet " will not be as good in quantity as quality, I 
should say ; as both missing individuals are poor in flesh. 

I wonder what the Aborigines Protection Society would have 
done under these circumstances ? Perhaps, after duly consider- 
ing the surroundings, they would prefer to remain in their arm- 
chairs and pass resolutions. I'm quite sure these aborigines 
are quite as capable of protecting themselves as the members 
of the Society. 

The men returned this afternoon but no Mohammed A. ; so 



1888.] 



LIFE AT FORT BODO. 



269 



that we suspect all the more that he is at supper with some 
convocation of political natives — not where he eats but where 
he is eaten. N.B. I have been reading Hamlet this evening. 

Sept. 13 — The men seem to think it a good joke that 
Mohammed A. has been lost ; the natives, they say, will very 
likely have their last hash of him and the boy to-day ; and 
seem to think it wise of us to strengthen our fortification 
(which we are carefully doing), as all agree that the natives 
are likely to try a closer investigation of our premises soon — 
now that the capture of the Nubians will have given them 
courage. 

We heard the Washenzi yelling and shrieking close to our 
camp to-day ; they did not, however, come in sight. 

Sept. 18. — The men got plenty of unripe bananas both 
yesterday and the day before. They peeled them, and cut 
them up into slices; then placed them on a sort of grating 
(" changer "), with a fire underneath ; and kept them turned 
till they were thoroughly dried and crisped. When this 
process was completed they pounded them into flour, which 
they made into a thin porridge ; this is what the men call 
" Ugee." 

On this clay twelvemonth we left the Arabs at Ilgarrowwa's 
camp on the Aruwimi, just twenty days' march from Fort 
Bodo, and here we are still ! We have settled down to farm.. 
in the centre of Africa ! The following is a complete list of 
the European provisions taken for Mr. Stanley, his servant, 
Stairs, Nelson, Jephson, and myself. On the march from 
Yambuya (180 days to the lake) there were six loads of food 
and one box of brandy — making seven loads. 



Contexts. 



Tea, tins (3 lbs. each) 
Salt 

Butter „ 
Milk „ 
Knives, tin-opener 
Sugar, tins . 
Jam „ 

Herrings „ 
Vegetables (dried) tin 
Lard, box 
Pace, bags 



6 

4 

12 

16 

4 

4 

12 

2 

1 

1 

5 



•270 



EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. 



[1888. 



Chocolate tins. 

Cocoa and milk „ . 
Sardines „ . 

Sausages (Oxford), tins 
Coffee, tins (5 lbs. each) 
Biscuits, boxes 
Tapioca „ 
Sago 

Liebig extract, pots . 
Arrowroot, tins 
Brandy (two bottles each) 
Flour (1 lb. in each), tins 



2 
4 
6 
7 

10 
5 
3 
3 

12 
1 

12 
6 



Mr. Stanley took his share with us. The sugar ran to about 
450 lumps each ; one tin was lost. 

Sept. 19, 20.— .... 

Sept. 21. — I had high fever again last night. Heavy rain 
'falls nearly every day from 4 . 30 till 5 . 30 p.m. Mr. Stanley is 
about fourteen days on his return journey ; so that if Jephson 
does not come here soon, our chief will probably be the first 
to reach us. I do wish that some Saviour would come ; I 
want badly to get a month or two on the plains with Emin 
Pasha, so as to have a chance of getting up some strength for 
the march to Zanzibar. The men here are in a wretchedly 
weak state ; three-fourths of the total number are quite unfit 
for work, and they cannot procure sufficient food to brace 
them up, as the elephants, the natives, and ourselves have 
been preying upon the banana crop for several months, and 
the plant bears fruit but once a year. Yesterday, five men 
did a foraging expedition, but brought back scarcely enough 
food to supply them for the day. We have none of us tasted 
meat of any kind for over a month, and we have no arrowroot 
— or, indeed, anything but Indian corn or bananas — for cases 
of sickness (or of health) among us ; nor has there been any 
for over twelve months. I am afraid we shall have to kill the 
donkeys which the Pasha gave us. 

Sept. 22, 23— .... 

Sept. 24. — On this day four months we left the Albert 
Nyanza on our way back here. If Mr. Stanley returns up to 
time — in December — and we start on our way to Zanzibar 
about the 1st of February, we shall just get home (with ordinary 
luck) for Christmas, 1889. Yesterday my boy caught some 
small fish ; in two of these I found flat worms, like the tape- 
worms of the human being ; three of them were in the 
intestines of one fish, one in the other. The fishes themselves 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 271 

were like miniature roaches, but were only half an inch to one 
inch in length. Both whites and blacks of our party have 
suffered within the past few months from both tape and round 
worms (taenia mediocanellata and ascaris lumbricoides). They 
picked them up on the plains, where they are extremely common. 
I believe that the infection is due to drinking water into which 
the excreta of antelopes, and other wild animals, have fallen. 
It was practically impossible to get them any other way. 

The 3Iahdi men who are with us are constantly getting 
incapacitated from work by the presence of the guinea-worm 
in the subcutaneous tissues of their limbs. This annoving- 
parasite develops under the skin, and in time the cutaneous 
•covering ulcerates ; a portion then protrudes, and, if not ex- 
tracted with great care it breaks off and causes extreme irrita- 
tion, leaving a huge ulcer, which is very difficult to heal. 

The irritation has been attributed to the setting free in 
"the surrounding tissues of a multitude of embryonic worms. 
•Curiously enough, it is of the female only that anything 
appears to be known up to the present. The uterus occupies 
almost the entire length of the cavity of the body; it is 
always found full of young filarial which, at the time of 
maturity, measure about -^ of an inch in length, by joVo *° 
*2o 00 of an inch in breadth ; and as these embryos escape by 
degrees on the rupture of the body cavity of the mother, the 
amount of irritation which results may be easily explained. 
It is also, probably, intensified by decomposition of fluids 
escaping from the severed trunk of the parent. 

The mature guinea- worm measures up to four or six feet in 
length, or even more ; and about one-tenth of an inch in 
thickness; and, as the body is uniformly cylindrical — with a 
rounded head, and tail curved and abruptly tapering — it forms 
a very singular cord-like specimen when successfully extracted. 
If left alone, it always leads to the formation of an abscess, 
the pointing of which allows the embryo filariae to escape and 
pass, if circumstances permit, through a life-history similar to 
that of their parent. These embryos are born alive, and ready 
to enter on a career of activity at once. 

It taxes a small fresh-water crustacean (cyclops) to do duty 
as its " intermediate host ; " and is now known to find its way 
into the human body by the alimentary canal (with drinking- 
water, &c), and not as was formerly believed, by penetrating 



272 EXPERIENCES IX EQUATOBIAL AFRICA. [1SS&. 

the skin. It certainly shows a curious selective affinity for 
the subcutaneous tissue of the lower extremities, which gave 
rise to the idea that it found its way through the skin of these- 
parts, in individuals who waded in affected waters. The 
impregnated female finds its way through the various tissues 
to the skin of the feet and le^s ; through which the embrvos 
eventually make their exit — to contaminate conveniently the 
medium occupied by their intermediate host. The filarial 
requires about a year to develop to its full size; and its 
escape through the skin — whether discharged pathologically 
by ulceration, or artificially by extraction — completes its 
life-history. It has been known from time immemorial as 
one of the pests of human life, especially in the regions of 
Africa and Asia which radiate from the Eed Sea as centre ; 
and the enemv whose attacks decimated the wandering Jews- 
in the wilderness, and to ward off whose ravages Closes lifted 
up the brazen serpent, is said by some modern materialistie 
naturalists to have been no other than the dracunculns- 
medinensis. Xone of our men have suffered from this worm ; 
only those 3Iahdi people who have come from the Pasha's 
province have got it, I have never met it amongst the Africans. 

Almost every morning some of the men come to me with a 
bit of toe, or a bit of leg, or a bit of nose, nibbled by rats,, 
which have no fear or scruple of attacking them in this way 
when asleep. The rats very frequently attack the ulcerated 
suriaces too, when the sloughing process has set in, and the- 
sensibility has been thereby diminished ; and do not leave till 
they have made regular burrows in the affected part. 

The forest is infested with rats, crickets, frogs, lizards and 
ants of all shapes, colours, and sizes, with wings and without. 

The men's latrine is situated at the end of the boma, at some- 
distance from the huts, and is constructed in Arab fashion ;. 
a pit about five feet deep, covered over with a hurdle of plaited 
canes ; and these plastered over with a layer of earth at the top,. 
leaving half-a-dozen holes each about a foot square. By this 
arrangement, flies, which are exceedingly numerous here, are 
excluded : otherwise they would inevitably be a means of 
conveving blood-poisoning, by inoculating the ulcerated sur- 
faces from which nearly all are suffering. 

The men are each given small gardens for themselves, and 
presented with seeds of beans, Indian corn, brinjals, and other- 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 273 

vegetables to plant in it. They seem very keen on their 
gardening, and are all clearing out their plots vigorously, and 
preparing for their little crops. There are, at least, half-a- 
dozen of the men here who are extremely debilitated, and will 
make no attempt at recovery till they get to the open breezes 
of the plains, and obtain more substantial food. Nearly all 
the powder of my revolver cartridges has now been expended 
in attempts to annihilate the itch parasite. There are few 
deodorants now, except small quantities of carbolic acid and 
potassium permanganate. 

Sept. 25. — Yesterday, we had the first pumpkins of our own 
growing. They were very good ; but did not, after all, differ 
very much from the wild pumpkins which grow here in 
abundance. The plant grows well, and forms a small yellow 
flower ; and the leaf is a little more circular, and of a somewhat 
lighter colour than that of the wild specimen. AYe eat these 
leaves. 

To-day, a man voided a specimen of the ascaris lumbricoules, 
-about a foot in length, of a pinkish colour, and with a long 
dark streak along the mesial line ; also several small ones of 
the thread variety (oxyuris vermicularis), which were twisted 
up into all shapes and postures. The ascaris is just like those 
which we had an opportunity of seeing on the plains. I believe 
that they are all derived from impure drinking-water. They 
differ from the ascarides at home, in being much pinker in 
colour : both whites and blacks are affected by them. 

I suggested to Stairs that we ought to go on planting the 
ground which Xelson had cleared around the Fort from the 
paulina (forest), as we may be obliged to remain here months 
longer than we expect ; and will, in that case, not have enough 
of food for the men without making some such provision. He 
said, however, that there would be plenty of bananas for them ; 
and, as he is generally right, I withdrew my motion. 

Sept. 26. — Stairs remained in the house all day to-day ; 
Nelson did his duty for him. I gave him eight grains of 
santonin, as he has been displaying some helminthological 
symptoms and intermittent fever. 

Wherever flies (like the common house-fly of the British 
Isles) alight on excrete matter, they void one or more white 
maggots, which immediately commence to wriggle about, and 
rapidly grow on it. 



274 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

Last night one of the men had a comatose attack, something 
like the stupor of the final stage of epilepsy ; it was not, how- 
ever, preceded by convulsions. We all feel the want oi 
exercise very much, as between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
it is too hot for any one to go out for voluntary exercise. Tin 
inevitable result is that we have " spleens " and " livers" almost 
every day among us; we are as changeable as the weather- 
glass : sometimes we arise with the morning light in a most 
amiable temper, sometimes in a perfectly malignant one. 
When idle for a few days, one gets quite surly, and oui 
tempers are affected — sometimes for better, probably oftenei 
for worse — by the most trifling current event. 

Sept. 27.— .... 

Sept. 28. — We three white people have now had high fevei 
on us for three days ; and we are all like bears with sore heads. 
We almost invariably get fever when the wind is from the 
west, on account of the swampy nature of the soil in that 
direction. There is, certainly, nothing so good for the sojourner 
in Central Africa as to be always on the march : remaining in 
a standing camp, like that which we now occupy, makes the 
sanguine phlegmatic ; and the lively, melancholic. If one 
could go for some shooting, or even for a moderate walk daily, 
it would keep him pretty right, but, situated as we are here, 
we cannot with safety go 200 yards from our Fort. 

Whenever fever appears here, it is always accompanied by 
a local manifestation — in the shape of some affection of a weak 
point in the economy of the individual. For instance, my 
present attack of fever was ushered in by a sudden lameness, 
acutely affecting my left knee, which became quite hot and 
painful. It was the first time that I had been so affected; 
and, at first, I really thought that the case was a local affection 
of the knee ; but the well-known symptoms of fever, which 
developed with it, soon satisfied me what its nature was. The 
attraction to this knee was the fact that I have suffered from 
" Hey's internal derangement of the knee-joint " on this side. 

Sept. 29.— 

Sept. 30. — The last of September has come and nearly 
gone, and yet no sign of the arrival of Emin Pasha. My boy 
is a thorough-bred Zanzibari in his ways : during the last few 
days he has stolen my only comb and tooth-brush ; and wound 
up, on yesterday, by running away from me. However, I had 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 275 

hirn. arrested in his flight, brought back, and made him an 
oration. He then, in true Zanzibari fashion, approached with 
an aspect of the deepest humility, crouched down, and kissed 
my feet — an abominable habit which these people always 
practice whenever they want to ingratiate themselves with 
one. 

Both ourselves and the Zanzibaris have beautifully white 
teeth ; I am afraid that the fact is chiefly due to the want of 
albuminous food (meat, &c), as, on this account, there is a 
comparative dearth of sulphuretted hydrogen, so that very 
little black colouring matter is developed in the vicinity of 
the teeth. Under such circumstances, there is not much 
substantial reason to pique ourselves on a small element of 
personal comeliness, which has, in this case, been purchased 
at the somewhat high price of chronic starvation. The Zan- 
zibaris use a tooth-brush daily, which they manufacture by 
cutting, into lengths of about a foot, a forest-shrub which 
grows here to about the thickness of one's thumb. The stem 
is of a very fibrous, woody texture ; and they teaze it out at 
one end, so that it acts admirably. The Zanzibaris are cer- 
tainly very careful to keep their teeth clean. I wish all their 
personal habits were as worthy of commendation. 

Everything is very still at the Fort to-day. All the men, 
excepting the sentries, are away in search for food. I often 
wonder, during the quiet hours of thought, how things are 
going on at home, although not actually suffering from 
nostalgia. 

We tried the first of our water-melons yesterday; but it 
was far from ripe. Stairs has now just the same kind of 
anthracoid sore from which Nelson and myself have just 
recovered. They are small in size, these tumours, but have a 
relatively large sloughing core. They always leave a depres- 
sion when they have healed up : this is, of course, a physical 
necessity, as there is a considerable loss of subcutaneous 
areolar tissue by sloughing ; and the cicatrix, adhering as it 
inevitably does to the deep fascia, produces a good deal of 
pitting. They always leave a dark spot. 

In two months and eighteen days — i.e., a little before 
Christmas — Mr. Stanley will be due here. We are now settling 
down with the hope of his arrival, as we have been so long 
looking out for Emin Pasha and Jephson, that we do not 

t 2 



276 



EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. 



[1888. 



think there is much use in expecting anything particular from 
that quarter any more. 

Oct. 1. — Our boys to-day caught a snake, seven feet nine 
inches long ; its circumference at the thickest part was six 
inches. It was of a slate-blue colour on the back, and a dull 
yellow along the ventral aspect. It had a small head about 
one inch in breadth. There were no fangs that I could find. 
It was covered with glistening scales, and was altogether a 
graceful specimen of its kind. My little pigmy woman skinned 
it and cut it up into small pieces ; then roasted it in the 
fire, and has just eaten some of the flesh. It will give her a 
supply of meat for several days to come. It emitted a very 
savoury odour during the roasting process ; and, had it not 
looked so repulsive, I would have been strongly tempted to 
partake of some myself. We have now had no meat for five 
weeks; the highest attempt at animal food we have reached 
during this period was an occasional meal of fried locusts ; they 
are caught in great numbers amongst the rice ; and, when 
placed on the frying pan, they give one hop, and a crack, and 
are cooked. 

Oct. 2. — We white men weighed ourselves to-day; our 
respective weights compared with those of former dates are as 
follows : — 



Date. 


Nelson. 


Stairs. Parke. 


March 23, 1887 . . 
July 6, 1887 . . . 
October 2, 1888 . . 


176 lbs. 
150 „ 
140 „ 


164 lbs. 

155 „ 

143 „ 


162 lbs. 
154 „ 
148 „ 



So that, since we left the Madura we have lost : — Nelson, two- 
and-a-half stones ; Stairs, one-and-a-half stones ; Parke, exactly 
one stone. 

Very heavy rain fell from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m. to-day. Last 
night a fire broke out in Mohammed Ali's hut, but was 
quickly extinguished. The elephants have again visited our 
bananas, very much to the detriment of our plantation. This 
is a very serious matter for us, as the ungainly brutes have it 
quite in their power to starve us out, and not leave a particle 
of food in the place. We have arranged that each of us, in 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BOLO. 211 

his turn, is to take out a party of men, and light fires here and 
there in the plantation ; as the smell of the fire and smoke 
appears to be the only thing which effectually deters these 
marauders from plundering us. 

Oct. 3. — The natives rarely use pots to cook their food ; 
although they have utensils which they make of baked clay, and 
are formed similarly to our ordinary iron pots at home. They 
merely roll up the piece of meat, fungus, etc., in a banana leaf, 
and put it in the fire to be roasted. It seems to be an 
excellent method of cooking fish. 

To-day I commenced giving Stairs and Nelson phosphorus, 
nux vomica, and iron, as a necessary tonic, on account of their 
great reduction in weight and general debility. I don't take 
anything myself, as I am a very bad hand at taking medicine ; 
besides, I have lost comparatively little in weight. A great 
deal of this I owe to the attention of my little pigmy woman, 
who collects fruits, leaves, roots, parasites, and insects for me, 
which she knows to be edible ; so that I am saved the trouble 
of gathering, and the exhaustion of being sickened by un- 
wholesome things. Her great difficulty is being unable to 
conceal these eatables from the ravenous men, who would 
certainly seize them from her. She wanders off into the 
forest by day ; and generally manages to bring her collection 
to me, after dark, wrapped in a plantain leaf. Her costume is 
so limited, poor thing ! — although possessed of a great sense of 
modesty : for she never forgets her belt of rattan cane or vine 
with an ornamental knot behind. I have already given her a 
handkerchief; but she is very extravagant. 

Oct. 4. — Our boys went off for bananas to-day : they 
saw several natives thieving in our banana preserves ; and, 
when chased, the latter dropped some arrows in their flight, 
which my boy Muftah gathered up, and brought me to the 
camp. 

Each day drags along very drearily now ; we have come to 
give up all hopes of help from Emin Pasha and Jephson, and 
certainly I never before felt so keenly the truth of the saying 
that " hope deferred maketh the heart sick ! " Emin's house is 
now quite dry and ready : if he would only come in and take 
possession ! 

We have discovered that sitting out at night to enjoy the 
sky and stars here is very unhealthy, so we three whites sit 



278 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA, [1888. 

round our dim fire in the " state room " every evening, some- 
what after the manner of the weird sisters in Macbeth, and try 
to chatter the heavy hours away. 

The peas which we planted four days ago have now grown 
to half an inch above ground. Our corn crop will, I fear, be a 
very poor' one ; I think the seed has exhausted itself. The 
pumpkins are now doing well ; although a good many of them 
became diseased and decayed away, when they had grown to 
about the size of a teacup. 



C 279 ) 



CHAPTER XIY. 



LIFE AT FOET BODO. 



No signs of Euan and Jephson's arrival — One of our donkeys killed for food — 
Ferragi puts cayenne pepper into his eyes in order to avoid work — Sudden 
death of Msongazi, following a wound by a poisoned arrow — Remarks 
regarding his wound — My donkey is killed — I am down with fever — 
Hamis Pad's abscess — The right place to enable one to appreciate the 
value of home comforts — A splendid soil for bacteria hunting — Lack of 
European provisions for over twelve months — Misunderstanding between 
Nelson and Stairs — I change my house — My boy Muf tan's salary — 
Method of catching fish : peculiar worms in the same — Indistinct vision, 
one of the results of fever — Further plots of the men to get to Lake 
Albert — Stairs is also laid up with fever — Ingratitude of our Zanzibaris 
— Summary of the food supplied to Nelson and myself at Ipoto by the 
Manyuema — Nelson a genuine good-natured fellow — Our experience of 
the " Dark Continent " — Twenty days of bilious remittent fever — We 
talk about our position — Stairs a great favourite with the men — Bad 
marksmanship of the Zanzibaris — Our corn crop — A sixth variety of 
" potato " — We plant corn in our newly-prepared ground — Nelson's 
seedy condition — I decide to remove the arrow-head from Stairs' chest. 

Oct. 6. — It is now four months to-day, since I arrived here 
from the Albert Nyanza. Oh, but the time does pass slowly 
and heavily ! The Fort is filled with rats and crickets ; which 
gnaw, and destroy in every way, what rags we have got in the 
way of clothes. My blanket is like a flour-dredger. This 
day twelve months we got to Nelson's " starvation camp;" 
where we left him, with fifty- six men and a large number of 
loads. This arena of former misery is now but ten days' march 
from here. 

This prolonged residence on a diet so exclusively vegetarian 
could have been avoided by bringing back Emin Pasha's 
carriers on returning from the Lake. However, all this was 
done for the best : and it is always easy to make suggestions 
on retrospective lines. •' For'arcl on," with relief to Emm, was 
always the first incentive prompted by the " too late " disasters 
on the Mle. And now that we have accomplished our task by 
handing over thirty-one loads of ammunition (containing 500 
rounds each) to Emin — at a cost of the lives of nearly fifty 



280 EXPEBIENCES IN EQUATOEIAL AFBICA.. [1888. 

per cent, of our men, we certainly do think it strange and 
unaccountable that he has not at least communicated with us- 
in distress. 

Oct. 7. — The remaining donkey was unable to get on his legs- 
this morning, from the effects of the twofold plague of hunger 
and flies. The men cut his throat this evening, and what 
meat starvation has left on the poor animal's bones will be 
served out to-morrow among them. 

Oct. 8. — The men ate their donkey's meat to-day with 
savage greediness ; the cooking consisted in barely warming 
it over a fire. I have got the tongue for my share, but am 
fairly puzzled how to cook it. 

Oct. 9. — Yesterday I had the donkey's tongue boiling 
from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m., but I did not eat any of it, as I had 
a bad attack of fever, and was obliged to go to bed. But I 
was better this morning, and had some for breakfast, and a 
second morsel for luncheon. It was really very good : as 
palatable as any beef-tongue I have ever tasted. Kelson, who 
is a great authority on cooking, and a capital judge of eatables 
generally, says that it was excellent. 

One of our Zanzibaris, named Ferragi, came to me this 
morning complaining of sickness, and exhibiting his eyes as 
an index of the depressed state of his constitution. These 
organs were red and watery — in technical phraseology, he was 
suffering from conjunctivitis (with the usual accompaniments 
of increased vascularity, pain and tenderness, photophobia^ 
and lachrymation). On examining him closely, however, I 
found that the reprobate had induced this condition by 
putting some powdered cayenne pepper into his eyes — this 
in order that he might be able to take his ease all day in his 
hut, and not be sent to any kind of work. 

My fever has come on this evening again, and I feel very 
seedy. 

Oct. 10, 11.— 

Oct. 12. — This morning, Msongazi, one of our men, went 
out vsith a party to cut poles for my bed; their range of 
excursion did not extend more than half a mile from our 
camp. They were armed with Bemington rifles. At 9.20 a.m., 
Nelson and myself heard two shots, and thought that they 
were fired by Stairs, who was on the look-out for elephants. 
However, it turned out not to be so. At 9.45 a.m., Msongazi 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 281 

carne back to camp, with a punctured wound in the right infra- 
mammary region (just below the nipple). The wound was- 
small, and almost perfectly circular ; and had evidently been 
made by a wooden arrow : but the nastiest feature about it 
was that these wooden arrows are always poisoned. The 
weapon had penetrated to a depth of about half an inch, but 
no part of it remained in the wound, which I carefully 
examined. The opening had been sucked by one of his- 
comrades, both immediately after the receipt of the injury, and 
on return to camp. (This I had instructed all the men to do 
whenever one of their companions was wounded with an arrow.) 
They do not, however, perform the sucking operation well ; as- 
they are always greatly frightened by the idea of poison. I 
touched the whole of the raw surface with nitrate of silver. The 
man was greatly alarmed about himself ; and, accordingly, very 
nervous and anxious. This was, however, his natural humour : 
he shrieked, and made a great fuss about himself, when he 
received a wound on a former occasion (when on the plains). 
He went into his hut, and said that there was no pain in the 
wound. He carried his rifle and bandoleer with him, and 
appeared quite as strong as usual; but he was evidently 
suffering intensely from suppressed mental emotion, and 
depressing anxiety about the consequences of his wound. He 
asked me for some salt, which he fancied would do him good ; 
so I gave it to him. After four minutes, I was sent for to see- 
him ; he had been vomiting. Nothing had come from the 
stomach but a thin watery-looking fluid ; but he was terribly 
agitated, and anxious about his condition. I had him placed 
at once on his back. When laid down, he immediately rolled 
round, on to his face, and his breathing became stertorous. 
The tongue was thrust out, but he did not bite it. The whole 
body became rigid, the conjunctiva lost sensibility, the pulse 
became imperceptible, and the respiratory movements were 
represented by an occasional inspiratory gasp. I dashed cold 
water on him, and clapped his face and hands ; but he made no 
attempt to rally, and he expired about six minutes after I had 
laid him on his back. He had spoken sensibly and clearly about 
eight minutes before he died. From the time of the receipt 
of the wound, an hour and twenty minutes had elapsed. The 
weight of opinion in this case, naturally, was that the fatal 
result was due to the action of the poison absorbed ; but of 



282 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

this view I have the strongest donbts. I am more than 
inclined to believe that a blood-vessel burst within the brain, 
as the result of his intense mental emotion. His face and 
breathing indicated such a condition, his agitation was so 
great as to lead to almost any conceivable change in the 
cerebral circulation, and his age and physique were such as 
would point to such a result. He was short, stout, and fat, 
with a big head, short thick neck, and protuberant abdomen. 
Under the circumstances, I would have liked greatly to have 
a post-mortem examination ; but the men informed me that 
his brother was with the rear column, and it would be necessary 
to obtain his leave. However, I do not think that the exis- 
tence of this obstacle would have been enough to prevent me, 
had I not to meet the more potent personal argument of my 
own bodily temperature, which was at 103° P. I am also well 
jaundiced — as yellow as a guinea, and felt more like bed 
than trying to solve an obscure problem in cerebral pathology. 

Msongazi was buried this evening. 

Oct. 13. — My donkey was killed to-day ; it was well — in 
more senses than one — as the poor animal had been gradually 
perishing of inanition. Nelson and Stairs have had the kid- 
neys stewed ; they boiled the tongue, but I cannot take any 
of it as my fever is still raging — this is the sixth day. I 
reject everything I take — well coloured with bile. I am really 
very seedy now, and have few remedies or stimulants left 
from the expedition : excepting some medicines, the sight of 
which I detest. Nelson and Stairs are both very kind to me ; 
they make a sort of gruel by sifting out the husks of the 
Indian corn, and I try as best I can to prolong a tedious exis- 
tence on this pabulum. 

Stairs issued rations of our corn for the first time to-day — 
at the rate of ten heads per week to each man. 

Oct. 14. — To-day I dressed and sat up for an hour or so — to 
let the place get an airing, and be thoroughly cleaned and 
swept out ; which could not be done while I lay in bed. I was 
helped out to the men's quarters, where I opened a large 
abscess for Hamis Pari. I was not able walk a step by 
myself; but I thought it better to be brought to him than 
have him brought to me ; for in the latter event, I would 
never have heard the end of the story of his sufferings — in 
having to walk fifty yards to have an operation performed 



1888.] • LIFE AT FORT BODO. 283 

on him. I was carried back to my bed by Nelson and 
Stairs. 

This is certainly the right place to enable one to appreciate 
the value of home comforts. My boy, Muftah — let a British 
home-resident imagine such a being if he can — does every tiling 
wrong; when I tell him, as I always do, to have all water 
boiled for drinking, he invariably informs me it is boiling 
vigorously ; when I send him to fetch some, he tells me that 
it has boiled over, or spilt in carrying, or some other way — he 
always has some such idiotic excuse to give. When my 
fever is commencing, I am always so much annoyed by him 
that I feel inclined to punch him. When the fever is 
over he is immediately forgiven, and is re-established as my 
factotum. 

For the last week my evening temperature has been 104° F. 
every day ; I am still as yellow as a guinea, and the renal 
secretion contains both bile and blood, which give it a dark 
claret colour. I have, of course, grown very thin and feeble, 
and totter when I attempt to stand on my legs. I sometimes 
wonder whether the pathologists at home have up to the present 
settled the much-disputed question as to whether all this biliary 
pigment really pre-exists in the blood — an assertion which I 
could never bring myself to believe — or, whether it is wholly 
(or partly) separated in the liver. Also, whether the parasitic 
body which had been described in the red blood-corpuscles of 
malarial fever, are the true disintegrators of the latter, and, if so, 
how they perform this mischievous function ; or to what factors 
in the miasmatic atmosphere they themselves owe their origin. 
When I left the lands of science and civilisation they were 
discussing these questions vigorously ; if I ever get home, I 
think I will suggest to the scientific institutions the de- 
sirability of planting one or more scientific pathologists in the 
heart of Africa. They ought to bear good fruit ; it is certainly 
a splendid soil for bacteria-hunting. 

Oct. 15. — I was up during the greater part of the day 
to-day ; but felt very weak, and had no appetite. I took a 
little nourishment, consisting of a watery gruel, made from 
Indian-corn meal. I am of a greeny-yellowy colour, not of a 
precisely aesthetic tinge. I have a terrible gastric craving for 
fish, or bacon and eggs : not much chance of my having this 
appetite indulged ! Nelson and Stairs partook to-day of a 



284 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

luncheon made of the leaves, flowers, and fruit of the pumpkin 
— all mashed up together. We have now been for over a 
year without tea, coffee, or any European viands of any kind 
to partake of — a subject on which I feel somewhat bitterly in 
my present condition. 

I am filling up my time by reading Shakespeare and 
Allibone's Quotations. The former, with the Bible, and 
Whittaker's large edition, are the best books for Africa when 
transport is limited. 

Oct. 16. — I felt better this morning; rose early, and saw 
all the sick. There are but twelve on the invalid list now ; 
this is a decided improvement, as there were twenty-five a 
couple of months ago. Since Mr. Stanley set off to recover 
the rear-column, we have had seven deaths ; another is just 
going now. I feel far from well myself, but am improving a 
good deal; the incessant'vomiting has ceased, and the jaundice 
is certainly diminishing. 

Nelson this morning accused Stairs of giving our onions to 
the men : he acknowledged having given two. This was 
certainly a good opportunity for repartee, not merely from 
its aspect as a question of courtesy, but as it indicated a 
want of tact. Stairs should have asked Nelson and myself, 
as we have, goodness knows, few enough of these dainties to 
comfort ourselves with. These misunderstandings always 
indicate an approaching attach of fever. No three men could 
possibly have been greater friends than we otherwise have 
been all through. 

Oct. 17. — My fever still burns, although not so high. My 
temperature runs up every afternoon, and never falls to the 
normal, even during the night. I am glad to say, however, 
that the amount of illness among the men is decreasing pretty 
rapidly. It is now four months (yesterday) since Mr. Stanley 
left us here. My pigmy woman ate four snake's eggs to-day. 

The elephants have been very mischievous during the past 
few days ; breaking down trees, and eating the fruit in our 
banana plantations. Accordingly, the men went scouting, 
both yesterday and to-day — to light large fires here and there 
in the banana plantations. 

I changed my quarters yesterday — from the old, damp, low, 
draughty house which I had been occupying, to the new one 
which was built for Emin Pasha. The latter is certainly 






1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 285 

much more sanitary in size, structure, and position : still I 
have already discovered that it admits the rain through five 
independent orifices. 

Oct. 18. — Twelve months exactly have now elapsed since 
we first got to the Manyuema camp — about eight days from 
here ; and, ever since, with the exception of a few weeks on 
the rjlain, we have been farming and fasting in the forest. 
Stairs went out to-day with a few men, and made some fires to 
frighten the elej)hants away from our bananas ; he saw a few 
of them hovering about. 

My temperature is down to 101 ■ 4° F. to-day ; but this is 
still far enough from health ; and I am not able to walk more 
than a couple of hundred yards at a stretch. 

There has been a great deal of rain during the night. My 
boy, Muftah, who is slave to Mohammed Ben Said of Zanzibar, 
tells me that when he went to engage with Mr. Mackenzie 
(agent for the Expedition), he received — in company with all 
the porters — five months' pay in advance. This amounted to 
£5, and he was obliged to hand this sum, with the exception 
of six rupees, over to his master before leaving. I have also 
been informed that the Sultan of Zanzibar made an order to 
the effect that, of all the money earned by the slave, half is to 
be retained by the latter, the other half made over to the 
owner. 

Oct. 19. — This morning I found two worms in a small fish ; 
they were each eight inches in length, white in colour, of a 
somewhat glistening, silky appearance, and furnished with 
minute ringlets on the surface. There was no attempt at 
segmentation of the body ; the head was bulbous, and fur- 
nished with a small projecting snout. The form of the trunk 
was flattened, and it tapered slightly towards the caudal 
extremity. It was rather lively in its movements, exhibiting 
considerable power of expansion and contraction. After re- 
moval from the intestine of the fish, each worm lived for two 
hours, and was constantly raising its head to a line per- 
pendicular to that of the body. 

Our boys catch their fish in a cone-shaped basket — some- 
what like a lobster-basket, in which some corn, or other food, 
has been placed to serve as a bait. When once in they are 
unable to find their way out. 

Oct, 20— .... 



286 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

Oct. 21. — On Friday (the day before yesterday) I had fever 
as usual, the period of highest temperature being the interval 
between 1 and 6 p.m. There was then a remission, which was 
followed by a similar paroxysm at 8 p.m. Yesterday I had a 
corresponding attack of the fever at 1 P.M., but the second 
paroxysm did not occur. To-day I feel greatly weakened by 
these incessant onsets of pyrexia; I take thirty grains of 
quinine, morning and evening, when the temperature is low ; 
but I expect that I will not be able to shake off this fever till 
I get some strengthening food, and here we have nothing but 
herbs and Indian corn. 

During the last few days I have observed that vision is 
indistinct in my left eye — everything looks hazy, with a 
confusedly indistinct appearance. I think I must have burst 
a small blood-vessel during the straining of the stomach. This 
morning, when I asked my boy for a change of dry clothes — as 
mine were drenched with perspiration — he gave me others 
which were simply dripping ; the latter he had put carefully 
by in a bag, where they had been soaked with rain, and had 
never dried them, or attempted to. 

The men are again plotting together how they are to get to 
the lake. There are only twenty strong individuals among 
them. The rest are all debilitated from ulcers, with anaemia 
and palpitation, to a greater or less degree. If they were all 
in vigorous condition, they certainly would start off at once to 
the Albert Nyanza ; and leave us whites here to do what we 
could with our loads. Such is the reliability of the Zanzibar i 
character. 

Oct. 22, 23.— .... 

Oct. 24. — I have not been able to write anything for the 
last couple of days, I have been so weakened by my fever. 
It comes on every day, about eleven or twelve o'clock (noon), 
with a temperature of 103° F., which continues till about 1 p.m., 
when it falls to the normal level. There seems to be no ending 
to this fever; quinine has, apparently, no antidotal power; 
and I am fairly burnt up by the combustion that is going on 
within me. The result is that I am as pale as a sheet, from 
hsematuria ; giddy, from anaemia and debility ; and unable to 
walk more than a hundred yards without resting. It is now 
the sixteenth day of this fever. 

Stairs has had an attack of fever which lasted two days. 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 287 

I examined his side yesterday, and succeeded in catching hold 
of the arrow head ; which is firmly lodged, so that it cannot be 
removed without a good deal of cutting. This cannot be done 
without using an anesthetic, as he is, naturally, anxious and 
jumpy when I fiddle with the wound, so I told him that when 
I grow a little stronger I will do this, and operate : I first 
suggested the local use of cocaine, but he prefers chloroform. 
Nelson sees my sick every day for me ; yesterday, I proceeded 
to see them myself, but had to give up the work, as I was too 
sick and weak. It is bad enough to be in such a condition 
anywhere ; but here it is positively cruel to be unable to do 
anything amid such surroundings : I having for my attendants 
a Zanzibar! boy (about fourteen years of age), and my little 
pigmy, who really deserves the " Koyal Eed Cross," as she is 
a most excellent nurse. I am obliged to get Stairs' boy — 
another barbarian of about twelve or fourteen years old, to 
cook my corn and herbs — the only nourishment we can procure. 
As an example of the ingratitude of these Zanzibaris (who are 
really a mongrel race) I may record the fact that, although I 
have attended them all through as carefully as I could, and have, 
up to the present, given medicine daily to about twenty of the 
men here, there are only two who have had the kindness to 
ask me how I felt during these sixteen days of illness. If 
Jephson is in any way the cause of the delay in coming to 
rescue us, and bring us to the lake, he is certainly very much 
to blame ; for he knows from experience that the white man 
cannot complete an average existence of more than about six 
months on herbs and mohindi. Also, a serious difficulty is 
that the men are full of the idea of going to the lake, as Mr. 
Stanley had informed them of Emin's promises. Accordingly, 
they are quite ready and willing to desert us at any time, and the 
only piece of (questionable) good fortune that prevents them 
from dashing off and leaving us white men to ourselves, is 
that so many of them are invalided by their ulcers, that the 
tolerably healthy ones are not in sufficient force to fight their 
way. My usual time for breakfast, when I am able to physi- 
cally persuade the boy, is 7.30 a.m. ; to-day, not being able to 
perform this essential operation, I had my breakfast "served 
up at 11 A.M. 

The following list of provisions exhibits all that was supplied 
to Nelson, myself, and three servants, during the period of 



288 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

eighty-five clays — between the 3rd of November 1887, and the 
26th of January, 1888 — which we spent at Ipoto : — 

Cups of meal ........ 37 

Heads of com ........ 178 

Fowls ......... 4 

Cups of rice ........ 22 

Fish (small) ........ 4 

Cups of beans ........ 9| 

„ corn (half pounded) . . . . . 2j 

Goat ......... 1 



In addition to the above, we twice received a small quantity 
of cooked meat and rice ; and, on two other occasions, a little 
curry powder and salt. 

From the under chiefs, to whom we gave presents, we 
received : 

Fowls 4 

Heads of corns ....... 70 

Cups of meal ........ 6 

Honey ....... One-half a cup 

Meat ..... Half a shoulder-blade of goat 

Noussoir (pounded ants) .... One cup-full 

Accordingly, the total number of cupsfull received was 111 — 
including meal, rice, beans, shelled-corn, &c. — which represents 
one and one-third cups per diem to be distributed between 
Nelson, myself, and our three boys, during the whole of the 
time that we were at Ipoto. Before Nelson arrived at Ipoto, 
Ismailia had given me little or no food ; he gave me one dead 
goat, which Mr. Stanley afterwards told me was diseased, and 
had died. They cut its throat after death, and then brought 
it to me as a generous present. It was devoured at one sitting 
— by myself and thirty sick men. We hardly waited to con- 
sider the question whether the meat was in a proper condition 
to function as a good and wholesome article of diet. 

Oct. 25, 26.—. . . . 

Oct. 27. — During the past couple of days I have not been 
able to write, but felt more inclined to get Nelson or Stairs to 
draw up my last will and testament. On yesterday — as usual, 
at 11 a.m. to the minute, my temperature began to rise, and 
soon reached 104° F. I felt terribly exhausted, and was 
hardly able to crawl back to bed from the place where I had 
been sitting. During the day I took about 90 grains of 
quinine ; I had taken still more on the previous day. I have 
now given up quinine altogether, and taken to arsenic. 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 289 

Nelson really is a genuine, good-natured fellow — one of the 
kindest I have ever met. He boiled up a number of small fish 
with some onions for me to-day, and made me some excellent 
soup therefrom — the best I have had for a very long time 
indeed : I had almost said for ages, time does pass so sloivly now ! 
I have taken a great dislike to my usual source of nutriment, 
i.e., pasturing on corns and herbs : our Irish pigs at home 
would have turned up their noses against it long ago. We 
have had no meat now for two months (dating from to-day) 
excepting two donkey's tongues and a couple of kidneys, wdiich 
were distributed among three of us. From what we have 
seen of Africa on this Expedition, it appears to offer nothing 
but fatigue, famine, and farming ; the only scope which the 
" Dark Continent " appears to present to aspiring ambition is 
for the special professions of ivory hunter, missionary, trades- 
man, and agriculturist. 

On this day twelvemonth Mr. Stanley left the Manyuema 
camp — about eight or ten days' march from here — to proceed 
to the Albert Nyanza and find Emin Pasha. What a waste 
of time since then ! — and all owing to the Pasha's not steaming 
down to meet us at the south end of the lake, although he 
knew w r e were coming, and we arrived at the appointed 
rendezvous a day before our time. 

My fever is diminishing, I take six tabloids of arsenic daily 
(-gQ of a grain in each), and my temperature has not gone above 
100° F. since I took to this medicine : last night I took some 
calomel and podophyllin. 

Oct. 28, — My temperature is normal to-day, but I feel very 
weak and exhausted : I took four arsenical tabloids at 9 p.m. 
to-night. The sentries heard some disturbance going on in 
our cornfield last night, and fired several shots in among the 
corn. They said that they thought the noise w 7 as made by 
some natives who had come thieving ; but there were no tracks 
of human beings found, on searching in the morning. Stairs 
told me that there w 7 ere foot-prints something like those of the 
buffalo. The rains are diminishing. My mind is continually 
wandering to the subject of good dinners, &c, &c. We three 
white men gather together every evening after dark in my 
house to have a general chat ; but before five minutes have 
passed, food is sure to have formed the central topic of con- 
versation. I will take up another " Belief " like this "when 

u 



290 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

the pigs begin to fly " : it is by far the most severe and heart- 
breaking time I have ever spent. I often try to compare it 
with the Gordon Belief Expedition up the Nile ; but there is 
no comparison, only an indefinite analogy. 

Oct. 29. — I am again free from fever to-day ; so I hope to 
have no return of it for some time. I have now had bilious 
remittent hsernaturic fever — a most dangerous form of malarial 
fever — for twenty days in succession. For fifteen days of these 
twenty, my temperature at 5 p.m. has always been over 
104° F. I am now dosing myself with quinine, strychnine, 
and arsenic, from which I expect to derive a good deal of 
benefit, as my fever has disappeared at last. 

Oct. 30. — I am still free from fever, but remain as limp as 
possible. If I walk a hundred yards I am ready to fall on all 
fours from exhaustion, and break out into a profuse per- 
spiration. Last night we had a talk about our position ; and 
we all three agreed in strongly condemning Jephson and the 
Pasha for their delay in not coming to relieve us. If he or 
Mr. Stanley do not come to relieve us before a couple of 
months, they will certainly have to carry a couple or three of 
us white men away with them, even if we are able to hold on 
to life till then. 

Some men were sent out after natives to-day ; they fired a 
few shots ; but, as usual, hurt nobody. We are convinced 
that something strange must have occurred in the Pasha's 
Province, or else Jephson would surely have come to us. 

Oct. 31. — To-day we have employed a new cook, Hassani, 
an old patient of mine, who is hardly able to walk. Our 
former cook was a savage native, who could never get rid 
of the idea that warming vegetables was quite as good as 
boiling them. Muftah and the little pigmy look after me 
alone. We do not care about having another man, as most 
of them have ulcers ; also from the consideration that Stairs 
is always dreaming and worrying himself with the idea that 
we have seven men or so working for us ; he alone being able to 
reckon up the number. He is a most enthusiastic farmer, is a 
great favourite with the men, and there is no better command- 
ant. He gets up to visit the sentries at least twice every night. 

Nov. 1. — The corn has been picked to-day. It was ripe 
about a week ago ; it is a very bad crop, the weather has been 
very wet, and the heads had dropped. Nine men went out on 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 291 

ruga-ruga to-day ; they fired eight shots at an elephant with 
the usual Zanzibari result ; much blood — which no one could 
see except the parties chiefly concerned. One man confidently 
asserted that he had hit the tumbo (belly) of the animal. If 
an elephant were as big as the largest haystack ever made, and 
all the Zanzibaris were allowed to fire at it from a distance of 
200 yards, I would bet my last pyjamas that not one of them 
would hit it : (N.B.) it must be remembered that this garment 
is quite unserviceable. 

My boy caught eleven small fish to-day — each from half to 
one inch in length. They form a very good kitawayo (condi- 
ment) ; with forest fruits and scalded Indian meal. 

Nov. 2. — The corn has all been picked off the large field — 
about four acres in extent. The crop, however, has been but a 
poor one, on account of the great hail storm ; and we have 
gathered but seventy baskets, of 100 heads each. This 
quantity, although it represents but a wretched result of our 
labour, it is well to have taken in ; for the natives might come 
at any time, on one of their usual prowling expeditions, and 
take it all away. 

I have made an ivory handle for my knife (of hippo tusk) ; 
the old kitchen bone handle had dropped off for want of use. 

Nov. 3. — Nine men went out scouting to-day — to warn off 
elephants and natives. Our farm is being hoed up again, 
to prepare it for another crop of corn. Wherever a tree 
has been burnt, and the potash salts remain in the ground, 
the corn or beans won't take. The corn is a four-months' 
crop here ; the beans a two and a half months'. 

My pigmy woman brought me this morning another sort 
of root to eat ; it is new to me, and tastes more like potato 
than anything else. This is the sixth variety of potato I 
have been introduced to during my sojourn in the forest. 

Twelve months ago, by this day, Nelson arrived at Ipoto 
from his starvation camp — a bag of bones covered by ulcerated 
skin — after his twenty-three days of almost absolute privation 
of food : weighing about 130 lbs. 

Nov. 4. — The men are off on a banana-hunt to-day ; a few 
went to catch fish in a river about eight miles from here. 
They usually get about eight fish per man, varying from one 
to four inches in length. My boy Muftah has fever to-day ; 
and, like all sick negroes, thinks he is going to die. 

u 2 



292 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. IISSS. 

Xov. 5. — Guy Fawkes day ! TVe are the Guys on the 
present occasion. Muftah's fever continues ; his temperature 
was 10T ? this afternoon. 

Nov. 6, 7.—. . . . 

^N ov. 8. — The men are planting corn to-day in the newly- 
prepared ground, from which the old corn had been taken 
up. Three grains are planted at the angles of an equilateral 
triangle— so • . •, and this is repeated at intervals of two feet. 
In our former crop, all three grains were set in a single hole ; 
but a tornado easily blows the stalk over, as it has but a 
slight hold on so small a base. The three separated, as above, 
will give better and firmer grip on the soil. This is Stairs" 
idea — it is mathematical ; and. I hope, accurate. 

Xelson is looking very seedy — from repeated attacks of 
fever. He is now reduced to 136 lbs. in weight ; four lbs. less 
than when we weighed last month. TThen leaving Eno-land. 
he weighed 176 lbs. 

The fates seem to be opposed to our getting any meat, of 
any kind whatever — to-day I missed three shots at a monkey. 
Stairs does not require it so much as his confreres, for he has 
a digestion like that of an ostrich. There were very heavy 
rains yesterday. Muftah has scalded his foot with boiling 
water, and is perfectly useless to me. 

I had a talk with Stairs this afternoon on the subject of 
his wound, and we decided that he is to be put under the 
influence of chloroform on Sunday next (11th inst.\. and that 
I am to cut down and remove the arrow-head, which has now 
been imbedded in his chest-wall for a period of fourteen 
months. Xelson. who is a clever assistant, will administer 
the chloroform ; my pigmy woman will be close at hand, 
with the bandages and dressings : — and, if any resuscitating 
agent, such as ammonia, be required, she can emit a modified 
form at the shortest notice. This perfume is a peculiar 
speciality of hers : she can wade in the deepest rivers without 
effect ; whenever the rain comes, I invariably get her to stand 
opposite my front door and wash for ten minutes, but it still 
remains as before. 

Xov. 9.— .... 



( 293 ) 



CHAPTER XY. 

LIFE AT FORT BODO. 

Successful operation on Lieutenant Stairs — Removal of the arrow-head — 
Rochard's division of wounds complicated by the introduction of toxic 
substances — Poisoned wounds one of the terrors of warfare — The efficacy 
of vegetable arrow-p:>isons questioned by some of the earlier apostles .: 
modern surgery — My experience of arrow-poisons — Xative dogs — 
Jephson's delay unaccountable — Stairs progresses favourably towards 
recovery — Our process of shaving — Stairs' notes on Mr. Stanley's first 
arrival at the Lake — Capture of two young crocodiles — Another poor 
corn crop — We send some 'benevolent' messengers to gather bananas- 
Distribution of corn among the men — Welcome additions to our larder 
— I apply pure carbolic acid to the surface of sloughing ulcers — My 
pigmy woman collects with me the necessary plants for making arrow- 
poison — Superstition in Africa regarding the construction of a small hut 
— Approximate aires of the white members, &c, of the Expedition — 
Process of pounding and preparing our corn — My Monbuttu pigmy 
mixes a specimen of arrow-poison — I manufacture a gridiron for cooking 
purpose-. 

Xov. 10. — This morning I got Stairs into my room, to 
examine into the condition of* his wound. I placed him on 
the bed. and after careful inspection was able to satisfy 
myself of the position of the arrow-head. I then made a 
final effort to get it out without the use of an anaesthetic ; 
Stairs bore the pain with stoic fortitude ; and after about 
ten minutes' manipulation, I succeeded in extracting the 
lone-lodged intruder. It was over an inch in length : the 
wood was roughened on the surface, but there was not the 
slightest trace of decomposition, although it had remained 
imbedded in the flesh for a period of fifteen months — less 
three days. It had struck the rib in the centre, and was 
then deflected downwards and inwards, so that it lay in 
contact with the pleura behind the intercostal muscles. The 
periosteum has been injured, and there is a slight amount of 
superficial necrosis, leading to exfoliation of that part of the 
sub-periosteal layers of the rib ; this will necessarily maintain 
a discharging sinus for some time. I am very glad that the 
thing has been removed, for Stairs is now relieved of the 



294 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

anxiety (accompanied by some amount of danger) of having a 
foreign body of a very unpleasant nature imbedded in his 
flesh. The uninitiated may be disposed to ask me why I 
had not removed it earlier : I have never thought, however, 
that I would have been justified in cutting down upon it in the 
earlier days,, when we were always on the move, for before it 
had become incapsuled in fibrous tissue, there would have been 
great danger of damaging the pleura and lung by exploratory 
incision ; and this proceeding I was very loth to risk among 
our bad hygienic surroundings. Later on, when the early 
symptoms of irritation had subsided, I was obliged to wait till 
we had some rest, and my own health enabled me to operate 
with some confidence in the use of my hands, as there certainly 
was no definite immediate danger. 

TTouxds complicated by the introduction of toxic substances 
have been divided by Eochard into three distinct classes : — 
(1) Venomous, in which the pernicious agent is the normal 
secretion of the special glands of certain animals, and in 
which the deleterious action is not local, but probably due to 
the presence of soluble alkaloids — ptomaines or leucomaines — 
which are rapidly absorbed into the circulation, and of which 
the molecular structure has not yet been definitely ascertained. 
The more important of these are, of course, the bites of 
venomous serpents. (2) Virulent, in which the pernicious 
agent is a virus — the product of an animal organism in a state 
of disease ; and which is, when absorbed, capable of reproduc- 
tion to an indefinite degree in the blood and tissues of the 
creature inoculated. Under this head falls the innoculation 
of small-pox, farcy, glanders, charbon, dissecting wound, ^Vc. 
(3) Poisoned, in which the toxic substance introduced is 
capable, although not gifted with powers of self-niultipdication, 
of causing deadly results ; some of which may be due to 
absorption by the venous circulation, by which the system is 
more rapidly affected, and others to absorption by the 
lymphatics, by which it is deposited in the neighbouring- 
lymphatic glands — where it may cause local mischief only, or 
from which it may be passed, more or less rapidly, into the 
general circulation. 

The absorption of all toxic substances is necessarily in 
direct proportion to the rapidity of the circulation at the 
situation into which it has been introduced ; when absorption 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 295 

has taken place, nature's efforts at cnre can be directed only to 
the elimination of the poison by the organs of excretion. 
Judicious aid may sometimes be effective in aiding the 
attempts of nature in this direction. Claude Bernard has 
demonstrated that by applying effective circular compression 
to a limb above the seat of a poisoned wound, which was after- 
wards relaxed, little by little, at intervals of sufficient length, 
the toxic agent was able to pass into the circulation by 
degrees, and be eliminated by the emunctory organs, without 
clanger to life : although the quantity of poison introduced was 
sufficiently great to have rapidly destroyed life without the 
adoption of this precaution. 

From the days of classic antiquity, the occurrence of 
poisoned wounds has been recognised as one of the terrors of 
warfare. Pliny tells us that the ancient Gauls dipped the 
points of their arrows in the juice of the black hellebore, so as 
to insure the infliction of a mortal wound. Strabo informs his 
readers that the juices of a variety of yew were utilized for the 
same purpose. In ages more recent, Hartmann reported the 
use of various species of Euphorbia by aboriginal Africans in 
the same way ; Ferreira de Lemos called the attention of the 
world to the employment of curara; other travellers found 
that some of the inhabitants of South America utilized extracts 
obtained from certain plants of the strychnine family. The 
natives of the Banks Islands (South Pacific) use extracts of two 
plants to poison their arrow-heads with ; one, toe, is a member 
of the Euphorbia family; the other, loM, is probably one of 
the mix vomica group. The arrows are sometimes dipped 
separately in these extracts ; sometimes in a mixture of both. 

The efficacy of such vegetable arrow-poisons, although 
received with implicit faith by the ancients, was sharply 
questioned by some of the earlier apostles of modern surgery. 
Ambrose Pare denied that there was any proof of the effective 
use of poison for such purposes ; Heister, who examined the 
evidence at more length, attributed all the symptoms which 
had been described as due to the nature of the wound itself, 
independent of other deleterious agents. Kochard absolutely 
refused to admit that the arrow-heads used by savages had 
ever been proved to have any toxic agency. Mendam (in 
1595), and Burney and Carteret (in 1767), who had special 
opportunities of making themselves acquainted with these 



296 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

savage weapons, expressed their doubts as to the efficacy of 
the poisonous properties attributed to them. Forster and, 
more recently, Halford, had investigated the subject experi- 
mentally, and had failed to satisfy themselves of the existence 
of a poison. At Gaboon, however, Polaillon and Carville 
investigated the properties of the inspissated juices of certain 
plants which were said to be employed by the natives to poison 
their arrows ; and found that the introduction of them into the 
circulation of the lower animals had the effect of destroying 
muscular contractility, and causing death by cardiac paralysis. 
On the other hand, the nature of the poison used in a similar 
way by the inhabitants of New Caledonia was carefully 
investigated by a committee of four persons, who took an 
active interest in the native customs ; these were Drs. Brassac 
and Michel, M. Campana, a druggist, and the missionary, 
M. Montrausier. After prolonged and repeated experiments, 
these investigators were unable to satisfy themselves of a 
definite toxic action. The animals which they had wounded 
with poisoned arrow-heads, inoculated, &c, all died of tetanus 
at intervals of six to twenty-six days from the receipt of the 
injury. 

Accordingly, the evidence so far collected on the subject 
must be admitted to be very inconclusive. I have taken a 
great interest in this subject since my earliest acquaintance 
with native African life ; and have, from time to time, ex- 
pended some pains in ascertaining any reliable information on 
this interesting question, but hitherto without definite result. 
I hope that I have now, at last, a fair chance of collecting more 
reliable data; I will certainly utilise my opportunities during 
the remainder of my stay here to try and ascertain some facts 
in connection with this subject. The results, if any, will be 
useful to some one hereafter ; the inquiry will help to relieve 
the tedium of my own existence here. 

Nov. 11. — Stairs' temperature is normal to-day. I have 
svrinD-ed out the wound, which is discharo-ino; a little. There 
is a great deal of puckering around the margins, and the 
central opening is deeply depressed. Adhesions have formed, 
leaving the edges of the wound immovably connected with 
the rib. The lung had never been punctured; the air has 
always entered it freely ; all other parts are healthy, excepting 
the small portion of the rib, which has been denuded of 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 297 

its periosteum. I placed a pad over the wound, and bandaged 
the arm closely to the side, and have no doubt that all will be 
well in a short time. 

The peas, beans, and all other climbing plants, which we 
have been cultivating here, grow in the same way — viz., from 
right to left, like the hops in Kent. We have experimented 
by trailing some of them from left to right, but they will not 
grow in that direction. 

Nov. 12. — Stairs' dog, a native cur of the pariah type, has 
been actually caught in the act of eating the heads of Indian 
corn which are standing in the field. 

All the native dogs which I have seen in the forest have 
ears pointed and erect. I have nowhere, as yet, seen one 
with drooping ears. The natives of the forest are not fond of 
domestic pets. The dogs are somewhat like fox-terriers, but 
very thin and starved-looking, and mostly brown. They 
evidently do not receive much attention from their native 
owners. The dogs on the plain are taller, with fine limbs, 
and somewhat of the greyhound type ; most of them have 
pointed ears, but a few of them carry these organs droop- 
ing. 

Jephson's unaccountable delay is, I believe, the result of 
some action of Emin Pasha's men, and the decision of the 
latter either to detain Emin forcibly, or refuse to come into 
the forest with Jephson to transport our loads. Or, perhaps, 
Emin is all this time concentrating his followers and men, 
who are coming out to the coast, and building a fort or strong- 
hold of some kind on the shores of the lake, so as to be safe 
from Kabba Kega, King of Unyoro, and to be ready to start 
when Mr. Stanley arrives. 

Stairs is doing well ; no complication or bad symptoms have 
followed the removal of the arrow-head. Nelson is very seedy 
from his fever. We are to have bean-soup to-night. This is 
our second crop of beans ; we make the soup by pounding the 
beans in a wooden mortar with an ivory pounder, and then 
boiling them again with a large quantity of water. 

I feel myself like a convict here, in more ways than one. 
In the first place, I am isolated and starved ; in the second 
place, my hair has been cropped down to the skin by my boy, 
who officiates as my barber; so I look almost bald. Both 
Nelson and Stairs have their heads shaved at regular intervals, 



298 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

as the hair is a little thin on the vertex, and they want it to 
grow more thickly. The shaving process is carried out by 
the use of an iron arrow-head, the edge of which has been 
well sharpened. 

Stairs read to rne this morning the notes which he had 
taken while at the Lake. On Mr. Stanley's first arrival there 
(in December last), both Stairs and Jephson suggested either 
to march up the western margin for some days, or to go in a 
canoe ; this would have just brought them to Emin Pasha's 
most southerly station at Mswa (provided the Expedition was 
not annihilated en route), and they would have found him 
there, and saved several months of time. But as the native 
tribes a-head were warlike, and inclined to be hostile, Mr. 
Stanley determined to retreat, with his small force, to the 
forest for the boat and a reinforcement of men, no canoe 
being discoverable on the lake. He did return to the forest 
and brought up the boat. He simply went to the lake ; and, 
when within communicating distance of Emin, retreated with- 
out having heard anything of him : the unaccountable fact of 
Emin's having never come down in his steamer to the south end 
of the lake, either to meet us, or for any other purpose, was 
enough to make our leader very cautious in his movements. 

Our men caught two young crocodiles in their fish-baskets 
to-day ; they were each eighteen inches in length, and had 
some small fish in their stomachs. The stream in which they 
were caught is but a couple of feet in depth (except when 
swollen out with rains), and a couple of yards wide. 

Nov. 13. — Nelson has decided not to cut his tent ; but fears 
that Mr. Stanley will put another man in with him, on his 
return, although the tent is not a large one. The rains are 
diminishing, and the days are becoming very hot. 

Nov. 14.— .... 

Nov. 15. — The gathering in of our corn crop was completed 
to-day. It is but a poor one ; about five acres had been planted, 
and the total yield was about four tons, which gives but 
twenty-nine and a half bushels to the acre (60 lbs. = 1 bushel). 
We calculated that our first crop on this farm yielded sixty- 
five bushels to the acre. This last crop had, however, been 
wrecked by that terrible hailstorm. The planting of the 
larire field will be finished to-morrow. 

Some elephants came up to within 200 yards of the Fort 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 299 

last night ; they tore up some banana trees, and then went off 
again. Nelson sends out two men every week for bananas ; 
they are always told to try and get a few good bananas for 
the white men ; but they invariably return to say that there 
are no good bananas to be found. On their return to-day 
Stairs saw them hide something at a short distance outside 
the Fort. As usual, they explained on returning that there 
were no good bananas to be got anywhere ; Stairs then went 
out at once to see what it was that they had hidden, and found 
some very good bananas — they had brought us in wretchedly 
small ones ! These benevolent messengers readily forget their 
duty to the white man, when the white man forgets to take 
care of himself. 

The temperature was 90° in the shade to-day ; still it is 
very damp, owing to the enormous profusion of vegetable 
growth. 

Nov. 16. — It is now exactly five months to-day, since 
Mr. Stanley started westward for the recovery of the rear 
column. He had then calculated that, after returning here, 
he would arrive at the lake on the 2nd of January, 1889. 
By to-morrow week, it will be exactly six months since I 
left the Albert Nyanza with Mr. Stanley. As our friends, 
Jephson and the Pasha, then hoped to be able to arrive 
here for ourselves and our loads in three or four months, 
the delay is uncomfortable, and furnishes a bad omen for the 
future. A question arose this morning about the corn, which 
was to be ttvangad (powdered into flour) for our use. Lately 
we have been usino; corn which was filled with weevils. 
Nelson objected to this now, as he said that this damaged 
corn could not be sold at the Cape, even for ostrich food. 
Stairs was of opinion that it was good meal. However, we 
held a "shauri," and it was decided to prepare meal from 
good new corn, which is, of course, cleaner and better. 

Stairs' wound has almost healed; and he is able to move 
about, and do his work with his wonted energy. He calculated 
to-day that we have now twenty heads of corn per day for 50 
men for three and a half months ; also, that there will be a 
" reserve " of 14,000 heads of corn, as well as bananas. So 
that we whites will have a store representing one hundred 
heads of corn per day for the same time, with a reserve of 
9,000 heads. 



300 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

Nov. 17. — We commenced the distribution of corn to-day, 
by giving all the men ten heads each for seven days. 

Nov. 18. — I had a shot at a large bird to-day ; and missed it. 
It flew off, but after a short time the sentry came running in 
to say that it had returned. Stairs had a shot at it then, and 
succeeded in brino-ino- it down. It was a kind of stork. 

Nov. 19. — The planting of the peas was finished this 
morning. The new peas are now just ripe; I expect that we 
shall have a plate of them on Sunday. Nelson's boy brought 
me a crab to-day ; about eighty young crabs were concealed 
beneath the ventral aspect of the shell. These youngsters 
were all quite lively, and moving their limbs briskly ; their 
eyes staring brightly open. It was evidently a female which was 
conveying her recently produced young ones around with her. 
We are to have Stairs' stork for luncheon to-day, which is a 
great treat to us hungry creatures. 

I now treat the sloughing, and very chronic ulcers by 
directly applying pure carbolic acid to the surface. This gives 
very little pain, and has the effect of causing them to skin over 
— in a way that every other application had failed to do. Oar 
former cook, Marzouki, who had been limping about for 
months with an ulcer on his foot, and had been excused all 
duty on account of it, has now had this broken surface com- 
pletely healed up ; so that his occupation of idleness, as one 
of the " Unemployed," has gone. He has, accordingly, been 
obliged to resume work ; and is not at all obliged to me for 
this new and effectual treatment. 

Nov. 20. — This morning I had a shot at some birds, which 
resembled plover both in appearance and flight. Their cry 
also resembled that of plover, so that they called up a number 
of old associations. During last night some natives came 
within 300 or 400 yards of the Fort, and shouted. My pigmy 
answered them; they said that they were going off by 
another path and would not come near. They must have lost 
their way, and not known they were so near our enclosure. 
The Wasongora come here from very long distances to procure 
bananas ; and, accordingly, do not know their way very well 
about the plantation. 

Nov. 21. — To-day I got my pigmy woman to come into the 
forest with me, and gather the barks, herbs, beans, &c, from 
which the natives prepare the poison for their arrows. We 




PARKE AND HIS FAITHFUL PIGMY. 



16 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 301 

collected four kinds of plants. She is to show me to-morrow 
how the poison is prepared. I will inject some into the dog 
and study the effects, which I am most desirous to see. Some 
of our men died of tetanus after the receipt of wounds inflicted 
by these weapons. This sequela might have been the result 
of the injury — considered merely as a punctured wound — but 
I hardly think that this would satisfactorily explain the large 
number of tetanus cases, with their unusually high mortality, 
which followed the action at Avisibba. All the men who 
had been wounded there — excepting Stairs, whose wound I had 
carefully sucked — succumbed to the tetanic symptoms which 
supervened. I also know now that some arrows are merely 
smeared with squashed chillies, or pounded ants, to enable 
them to give rise to a certain amount of irritation. The 
pigmy tells me that if the poison is not fresh it merely causes 
local swelling and itching around the seat of the wound. She 
also says that the poison is harmless to swallow, and that the 
natives always smear it on the arrows with which they kill 
their game. They eat this game afterwards, and suffer no ill 
effects from the poison. She tells me that there is an idea 
that if the natives are frightened while preparing the poison it 
will be of no use. 

Among the superstitions which I have had an opportunity 
of noticing during the progress of the Expedition, one of the 
most widely spread is the construction of a small hut, the 
presence of which is supposed to protect the families of the 
warriors while the latter are away on one of their plundering 
or fighting excursions. I have observed it among the tribes 
on the Congo, in the Manyuema tribe, along the recesses of 
the forest, and on the plains towards the Albert Eyanza — it 
seems to prevail almost across Africa. The fetish man, or 
wizard, of the tribe, builds a small conical grass hut, about two 
feet in height, with a doorway about large enough to admit a 
hen. One of them is built close to the door of each of the 
principal huts in the village, when the heads of the families 
are going .on an expedition, and they are believed to furnish 
a secure protection against their hostile neighbours. Also 
they are supposed to act as charms to protect the warriors 
of the village, while away fighting against the common 
enemy. 

I subjoin the approximate ages of the white members of the 



302 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

E. P. K. Expedition, and the averages of the ages of the various 
tribal components, at the date of its starting (early in 1887) : — 

Years. . Years. 

Stanley 46 Parke 30 

Walker 38 Jameson 31 

Bonny 43 Jephson 30 

Nelson 36 Barttelot 29 

Ingham 36 Ward 25 

Troup 32 J Stairs 25 

William 21 years. 

Tears. 
Avei age age of Europeans ...... 32^ 

„ Zanzibaris . . . . . .35 

Nubians 33 

„ Somalis ...... 25 

]STov. 22. — Stairs and I carefully measured the meal which 
we used to-day, so that we may be able to estimate the average 
consumption of the twenty-four hours. We used each 3J cups 
of dry flour during the day as ugee (porridge), or ugari (scalded 
meal) ; but we are able to consume half a cup extra, which would 
make 3f cups of dry flour. This quantity is equal to 5 cups of 
wet flour. Naturally our bitter experience of forest life has 
given us some ideas of prudence and forethought ; although, 
under the present circumstances, it may seem much less re- 
quired than formerly ; living as we now are on our own farm, 
and with our granary full of corn. Our corn is allowed to soak 
in water for a night ; and, on the following morning is pounded 
in a large wooden khino (i.e. a wooden mortar). It is then 
sifted again and again, until all the husks have been separated ; 
after which process it is again pounded with ivory pounders. 
The man who carries out the pounding process receives 150 
heads of mohindi (Indian corn), to prepare for each day — this 
makes 14 or 15 cups of wet flour, which represent about 10 
cups of the dry material — so it is less than our ration-allowance, 
as above calculated. Therefore, we conclude either that 150 
heads of corn form too small a ration, or that some is possibly 
lost (i.e. stolen) in some stage of the process of preparation. 
The latter accident, I know, does occur — at least, on some 
occasions — as I have found the pounder (i.e. the man who 
pounds) carrying away a good deal of the meal, which he 
had abstracted by mixing it up with the husks and refuse : 
besides, his lower jaw is perpetually on the move while 
pounding. 

We generally have a few sweet potatoes and some mboga 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 303 

(leaves of trees, herbs, and tops of bushes pounded up together) 
with our repast, in addition to our ration of Indian corn. 

Nov. 23. — My Monbuttu (pigmy) woman, has succeeded in 
preparing a specimen of arrow-poison. I will try its effect 
on Stairs' dog, which he has generously given for the ex- 
periment, in aid of the advancement of science. I wonder at 
what date the English-speaking world will be instructed by 
the result ? She pounded some large leaves, bark, some (pink, 
thorny) stem, scrapings of sticks of wood, and four bean kernels 
— all up together. She then smeared the arrows with the 
resulting mixture, and placed them to dry in the sun. 

Nov. 24. — On this day twelvemonth, Mr. Stanley started 
from here to the Albert Nyanza for the first time : on this day 
six months, we left the Lake (concluding our leader's second 
visit); having at last found the mysterious Emin Pasha. On 
this day — here we are ! still patiently (or impatiently) 
awaiting the arrival of Jephson and Emin Pasha — or of 
Mr. Stanley. 

I have made a gridiron from the wire splints which I took 
from the " Eield Companion " left at Cape Town. It will be 
most useful in cooking meat, instead of having to drop the 
latter in among the cinders to be roasted, or trying to arrange 
it on a stick like kabobs. 

But where on earth is the meat ? ? ? Echo answers. 

The rains are now ceasing. 



304 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA, [1888. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE AKKOW-POISON OP THE PIGMIES. 

My first African essay in amateur vivisection — Effect of the arrow-poison on 
Lieutenant Stairs' dog — Method of burial among the natives — Anni- 
versary of my birthday — Report on the arrow-poison of the pigmies read 
before the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain : Part I. Description 
of the material ; («) The poison ; (&) Preparation of the poison ; (c) The 
antidote. Part If. Identification of the material by E. M. Holmes, F.L.S. 
— Some of the results of our farming at Fort Bodo tabulated— Mischief 
by elephants in our banana plantation — Ali Jumba's reply to our cross- 
examination about the same — Elementary nature of our diet — A native 
camp discovered in the plantation — Porridge flour made from bananas — 
We cut down our rice crop — Great quantities of locusts — An elephant's 
gymnastic feat — Wives of the Wambuttu and Wasongora. 

Nov. 24. — This morning, at 9 A.M., Stairs' dog was handed 
over to me to make my first African essay in amateur 
vivisection. I made an incision in the skin of the animal's 
back, about half an inch in length, and pretty deep : I 
also made scratchings (like those practised in vaccina- 
tion), over a surface of about a square inch. I then rubbed 
in the poison. The whole procedure was carried on in 
presence of my white confreres. I have been very anxious 
to satisfy myself of the effects of the poison : so many of the men 
having died of tetanus after being wounded, and four having* 
died of haemorrhage resulting from puncture of important 
vessels — all these cases left me doubtful as to the modus 
operandi of the mysterious agent. The fatal cases of haBmor- 
rhage might, of course, have followed the punctures inflicted 
by any such pointed instrument, whether poisoned or not. The 
succession of cold, chilly nights to excessively hot days, might 
have proved a sufficient cause to account for the occurrence of 
so large a number of cases of tetanus among our blacks, who 
have the reputation of being so much predisposed to the 
disease : this was made even more probable by the fact that so 
many men died on the nights of the 18th and 19th ; both of 
which were particularly cold. So that, up to the present, I 
have had no decisive data. 



1888.] THE ABROW-POISON OF THE PIGMIES. 305 

My dwarf tells me that the poison won't kill by insertion 
into a superficial wonncl : the arrow which has been fortified by 
the poison must penetrate to a depth of two inches. This state- 
ment does not make me feel any clearer as to the qualities of 
the poison, for at that depth it might very often produce mis- 
chief enough to cause death without the use of any poison at all. 

The sentries heard an elephant moving about in the chamba 
(clearing), last night about twelve o'clock. They fired one 
shot, after which the animal moved off for a few yards ; but did 
not leave the place until the ivory alarm horn had been blown 
for about fifteen minutes. The brute could be distinctly heard 
breaking down branches and feeding, at a distance of two or 
three hundred yards. 

I made another gridiron — for Nelson — from the iron bangles 
which my pigmy has been wearing as ornaments around her 
neck. We are all earnestly praying that Providence will soon 
send us some furniture for our gridirons, in the shape of sound 
and wholesome meat ! 

Nov. 25. — One month separating us from Christmas — a 
bright lookout ! Another holiday of starvation. My last 
Christmas was spent among our benevolent Manyuema friends 
at Ipoto; the previous one at Alexandria ; the one next before 
that (1885), on the Nile, with the Expedition for the relief of 
•Gordon — so that I have had a choice variety of African holiday 
experiences. 

The dog, which had been the subject of yesterday's 
experiment, died to-day at 1.45 p.m. — twenty-eight and a 
quarter hours after the introduction of the poison into his 
economy. When I made the incision, the animal winced a 
little ; but did not seem to feel any pain while I was rubbing 
in the poison. I carefully watched his subsequent movements ; 
he was restless for an hour or so ; but this seemed to be rather 
due to the annoyance produced by muzzling him — so as to 
prevent his licking off the poison. He then composed himself 
in the usual attitude of dogs lying at ease : placing himself 
quietly on his belly, with his fore-legs stretched out in front, 
his head extended and resting between them, and the hind-legs 
drawn forward under his body. He had not moved about 
much, and had made no attempt to scratch his wound, or roll 
on his back, or rub himself against anything. His fore-legs 
were kept tied, till 4 p.m., so as to prevent his scratching, when 

x 



30b* EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1886: 

they were unbound by Stairs, who brought hirn out for a 
walk. He then seemed to be in low spirits, and unusually 
drowsy and heavy — indicating a narcotizing influence. He 
got two toasted heads of corn, which he ate — this was his- 
usual food. He made no noise during the night, and there did 
not appear to be any definite change in his condition in the 
morning : he still remained heavy, and showed no inclination 
for exercise or play. He had plenty of water beside him to- 
drink, if he wanted to. At 1.30 p.m. I found him lying in the 
position above described, with the tongue partially protrudecl r 
and a slight discharge of saliva escaping from the mouth, 
which was partially open. The pupils were normal, the eyes- 
partially closed, and a mucous secretion between the lids ; the 
head, when raised would fall over if not supported ; the respi- 
ration was laboured, and a little slower than that of health ; 
the arterial pulsation — easily felt in the femoral artery — 
indicated strong, but slow, heart's action ; he had voided from 
bladder and intestines; the tail was extended and lax — instead 
of its normal curl upwards. When removed to a flat surface 
he lay on his side, and extended his legs. A tremulous move- 
ment then appeared in the fore-legs ; which soon ceased, and 
commenced in the hind-legs : this movement, on watching it 
closely, I found to be a symmetrical jerking, twitching move- 
ment of both fore-legs and both hind-legs in turn. The entire 
limb moved with a jerky contraction — from shoulder to claw : 
both fore-legs moved together, about every ten seconds ; both 
hind-legs then had their turn ; then the legs appeared to move 
alternately, so that their actions nearly corresponded to those 
of a trotting horse. There did not seem to be any irregular 
contractions of independent groups of muscles ; there was no- 
tonic contraction, no local hardness or rigidity, and the skin 
did not feel hotter than in health. 

My pigmy said that the dog would die in three days after 
the infliction of the wound ; this is about the time that some 
of our men lived after being wounded by a poisoned arrow. 
The amount of poison which I introduced into the wound of 
this animal was, however, of course, much greater than is likely 
to be inserted by the puncture of a single poisoned arrow. 

The dog did not attempt to drink any water till near the- 
end ; and then he did not seem to be able to swallow. The 
skin never seemed to become hot or moist, the effect of the; 



1888.] THE ARROW-POISON OF THE PIGMIES. 507 

poison seemed to be of a purely narcotic character. The faeces 
which he passed seemed to be quite healthy ; they were dark 
in colour. The body became rigid about two (to two and a 
half) hours after death. The pigmy tells me that when natives 
die from the effects of this poison, the eyes are always widely 
open (as the dog's were) : they also evacuate from the bladder 
and bowels. 

She has also informed me that when the natives die, whether. 
from natural causes or from the effects of this poison, they are- 
tied up in a contracted posture, and suspended from the 
ceiling with the neck, thighs, and legs flexed, so as to give- 
them a position nearly like that of a person reclining on a 
bed-rest. When cold and stiff, they are carried away to a 
distance of half a mile from the village ; and buried, in the- 
forest, in this partially sitting-up position. 

Nov. 26. — The natives use an antidote for this arrow-poison : 
the Monbuttu tells me it is not taken by the mouth, but is 
introduced under the skin of the wounded person. It makes 
the individual sleep ; but he occasionally w r akes up and groans 
during the course of this curative slumber. While asleep the 
eves are closed. She also asserts that, in order to inflict a fatal 
wound the arrow must penetrate to a depth of at least two inches. 
This is because but a small portion of the poison can be made 
to adhere to the sharpened point and margins of the arrow- 
head ; it sticks much better to the thickened portions, . 
beginning about a quarter of an inch from the tip. If the 
individual is able to eat and drink, the prognosis is favour- 
able. There is never any sweating. Sometimes the jaws 
become locked by spasm of the muscles of mastication 
(trismus) ; when this occurs the man will die in two days. 

Nov. 27. — The anniversary of my birthday ! I am thirty- 
one years old to-day. What a year of life the past has been !. 
Our experiences surpass the wildest imaginations of modern 
romancers : but there is no use in reflecting here. 

After some persuasion my pigmy consented to take me into- 
the forest and show me the plants, &c, which she employed to 
prepare the poison, and also the antidote. This was a very 
o-reat favour indeed, for it is a strict secret of the tribe. 

Owing to the kindness of Mr. E. M. Holmes, F.L.S., the 
Curator of the museum of the "Pharmaceutical Society of 
Great Britain," I am able to give the following interesting 

x 2 



308 



EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 



report, which was read at an evening meeting of that society 
.on Wednesday, April 8th, 1891. 

THE AKKOW POISON OF THE PIGMIES.* 

By Surgeon Parke, D.C.L., Army Medical Staff, asd 
E. M. Holmes, F.L.S. 

PART I.— DESCRIPTION OF THE MATERIAL. 

By Surgeon Parke. 

The Poison. 

I. — The arrow poison used by the pigmy race in Central Africa is of a very 
fatal character. Of all the men wounded by poisoned arrows at the action of 
Avisibba only one survived, viz., Lieutenant Stairs, and his recovery was 






^^^'C '">.=. 










POISON NO. 1. — BA.RK. 

probably due to the fact that the poison was immediately sucked from the 
wound. It seemed very important, therefore, in the interests of humanity, 
to ascertain, if possible, the composition of the poison and to learn the nature 

* From the Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions, April 11, 1891, 
p. 917. 



1888.] 



THE ARROW-POISON OF THE PIGMIES. 



309 



of the antidote used by the pigmies. This I was at length able to do, through 
the help of my little pigmy woman who followed our caravan. It was, how- 
ever, a long time before she would show me the plants used, and the method 
of preparing the poison; and then only on the express condition that no- 
other person should accompany us to the place where the plants grew. 

Five plants are employed 
to make the poison. Of these 
I have brought home such 
portions as I was able to pro- 
cure at the time. They con- 
sist of (1) a bark, (2) a large 
green leaf, (3) a thorny 
creeper, (4) a green stem, 
(5) a bean-like seed. 

1. Bark. — This is obtained 
from a forest tree which grows 
to a great height, and is very 
common in the neighbour- 
hood of Fort Bodo. The 
trunk grows to several feet 
in diameter ; has no branches 
low down, but is much 
branched above. The leaves 
are compound and pinnate, 
of a light green colour ; the 
leaflets are small, about halt" 
to one inch long, not always 
opposite, but occasionally al- 
ternate, the rachisbeing about 
one foot long. The tree had 
no flowers or fruit on it that 
I could see. The bark is used 
fresh ; it is of a dark brown 
colour on the outside, and 
slightly rough. On the in- 
side it is of a whitish pink 
colour, and red when broken 
transversely ; it is from 
s to ^ inch in thickness. A 
piece about two inches square 
is used, pounded with the 
other ingredients, to make a 
cupful of the poison. The 
Monbuttu name of the tree 
is Elinda; and the Wason- 
gora name Sooroosooroo. 
(The word Monbuttu means 
forest dwarfs, and the name 
of Wasongora is applied lo 
the larger, and darker, natives 
who occupy the clearings only 
in the forest.) 

2. large Green Leaves. 
- The plant from which 2.-laege green leaves. 
these are taken is very 

common in the forest, all the way from the Congo to where we emerged into 
daylight at Kavalli's. It is a herbaceous plant, with about eight or ten larg 
oblong lanceolate leaves; arising direct from the ground, and having at their 




olO EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

base a bundle of small cord-like roots about the thickness of a crowquill. The 
leaves are usually three or four feet long, and the old ones attain even the length 
of six feet. The largest are of a dark green colour, and the younger of a lighter 
shade ; the petiole is short and thick, about two inches in diameter, and the 
midrib is channelled, or grooved longitudinally on its upper surface, and is 
prominent below, while the slender lateral veins branch off at an acute angle. 
When handled, the leaf feels like gutta-percha tissue. 

The short petiole is pinkish and very juicy, but only the blade of the leaf 
is used: about two dozen being sufficient for a cupfuL of the poison. 

The flower is very handsome, white, several inches in diameter, very fragrant, 
and soon fades when gathered. The lower lip of the flower is semicircular, 
and larger than the upper part. 

The Monbuttu names of the plant are Kaukaungee and Binbeedo: the 
Wasongora names Kaukaungee and Koko. 

3. A Thorny Creeper. — This is also very common in the forest. It is a 
■creeper which grows twenty, thirty, or even forty yards long, but never exceeds 
one or two inches in diameter : it climbs up trees ; but prefers to creep along 
the undergrowth, close to the ground. The stem is of a brownish colour, 
green, softer and more pliable in the younger parts, and, near the apex, pinkish, 
or of a lighter shade of green. For the last two or three inches the thorns are 
.softer, rudimentary, and resemble small leaves; but on the older stems they 





POISON NO. 6. — THORNY CREEPER. 

are very sharp and hard. There is such a gradual increase in diameter, that 
it is hardly noticeable in a length of five yards. When it runs on the surface 
of the ground it sends down rootlets into the earth. 

When old, the bark becomes very thin, and falls off in shreds; the wood 
becomes brittle. The stem has a well-marked pith. The portion used is 
that towards the end of the shoot, but not the soft green extremity of it ; a 
piece about one-quarter of an inch in diameter, and three feet long, is sufficient 
for making a cupful of the poison. The plant had no leaves, flowers, or seeds 
when I gathered it. The Monbuttu names are Oferuper, Tipoongo, Cuckoo-oo, 
and Mombuadu-beedu : the Wasongora names are Putooroh and Beeiah. 

4. Green Stem. — This is obtained from a branching shrub, which is very 
common in the forest. It growls to a height of ten or twelve feet, and the 
stem, in the thickest part, is not more than two inches in diameter ; it is of a 
dark green colour in the upper part of the plant. The leaves are dark green 
on the upper surface, and of a paler tint below ; there are three principal veins 
or orbs ; and the lateral veins are given off, at an acute angle, from each of these. 
The leaf is from three to six, or even eight, inches long; and about half as 
broad ; the large veins being depressed on the upper, and prominent on the lower 
surface of the leaf. The scrapings of the bark only are used — to the amount 
of a dessertspoonful in preparing a teacupful of the poison. The plant had 
neither flowers nor fruit when I saw it. 



1888.] THE ARROW-POISON OF TEE PIGMIES. 311 

The Monbuttu names of the tree are Tarfa and Macaboo-oh : the Wasono-ora 
name is Soomba. ° 



* << 



' 



'■A 




POISON NO. 4.— GREEN STEM AND LEAF, 




POISON NO. O. — SEEDS. 



5. Seeds. — These resemble a small bean in appearance. They are of a 
dark brown colour, and about a quarter of an inch in length ; and grow to a 



312 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888V 

very large tree. About eight would be sufficient for a cupful of the poison : 
ou]y the yellow kernel being used. 

The Monbuttu name is Boongahcah ; the Wasongora names areBaymahrub 
and Excecu, 



Preparation of the Poison. 

The large leaves, the hark, the pink thorny stem, and the scrapings of the green 
stem and lour of the small seeds are all pounded together into a paste ; which 
is spread on the head of the arrow and allowed to dry. At first it is of a greenish 
colour, but becomes paler, and forms a hard crust like clay on dryiug. 
The Monbuttu woman said it lost its strength after three or four days. As I 
was anxious to ascertain if the ingredients really were those used to prepare 
the poison, Lieutenant Stairs kindly lent me his dog to experiment upon. 
For a long time I thought that those who died from tetanus died from 
traumatic tetanus: this poison undoubtedly causes tetanus, but there are 
different poisons used by different tribes. 

Some of the poison prepared as above, on the 23rd of November, 1888, was- 
used on the 24th. 

An incision about half an inch long was made in the back of the animal, as- 
well as light scratches over a surface of about one inch square, and the poison 
was rubbed in — at about 9.30 a.m. — the operation being \ erformed in the 
presence of Stairs and Kelson. 

The Monbuttu woman said at the time, that the poison would not kill the 
dog : as the poison must be on an arrow, and the arrow must penetrate two 
inches into the body. However, on the next day (25th) the dog died at 
1.45 p.m., twenty-eight hours and a quarter after the introduction of the poison. 

Symptoms. — The following symptoms were observed. "When the incision 
was made, the dog flinched a little ; but did not appear to suffer pain from the 
cut on the introduction of the poison. It was restless for an hour or two, but 
this was probably due to the muzzle. He afterwards lay at his ease like other 
dogs : his forelegs stretched out in front, with his head resting between them, 
and his hind legs drawn up under him. He moved very little, and made no 
attempt to scratch the wound, or roll on his back, or rub against anything. 
His four legs were tied until 4. p.m., when Stairs brought him out for a walk 
of 100 yards. He then appeared to be in bad spirits, and unusually drowsy 
and heavy, as if under the influence of some narcotic. The pupils of the eyes, 
however, were not affected. He ate two toasted heads of Indian corn (his 
usual food). During the night he did not make any noise, and there appeared 
to be no change in his condition ; but he still remained heavy, and not inclined 
for play or exercise. At 1.30 p.m., on the 25th, he was lying in the above 
position with the tongue partially protruded, and there was a slight discharge 
of saliva from the mouth which was half open. The pupils were normal; 
his head would fall over if not supported. He was unable to take any notice, 
his eyelids being only half open ; and a mucous secretion was present between 
the eyelids. The respiration was laboured, and very slow. The heart's action 
was healthy, but slow (I felt the femoral artery). Urine and faeces had been 
expelled; and his tail (naturally curled) was lax, and extended. When 
removed to a clean, flat surface he lay on his side and extended his legs; a 
trembling movement was observed in his forelegs, which soon ceased and 
commenced in his hind legs. The trembling was a symmetrical movement in 
both forelegs, and in both hindlegs, respectively, the two forelegs moving inde- 
pendently of the hinder ones, and vice versa ; the leg moved with a jerk, 
which extended through the entire limb from shoulder to paw. There was no 
irregular contraction of independent muscles. The muscles did not become 
hard, nor did the dog's body leel harder or hotter than usual. The spasmodic 
jerkings and movements occurred once every ten seconds; and the legs now 



1888.] THE ARROW-POISON OF THE PIGMIES. 313 

moved after the fashion of a l.orse trotting. The dog would not drink water. 
It became very rigid and stiff in about two (to two and a halt) hours after 
death. 

The Monbuttu woman said that the dog would die in three days, and 
remarked tbat when natives die from the poison they always have their eyes 
open like the dog, and also pass dark-coloured faeces under them. I had the 
opportunity of observing the action of the poisoned arrows on human beings 
in the following cases : — 

At Avisibba. — Many men were wounded by poisoned arrows on August 14-, 
1887, and died, of undoubted tetanus, four to sis dnys afterwards. 

At Fort Bodo. — A Zanzibari was wounded by a very small puncture from a 
poisoned arrow at 9.30 a.m. He walked one mile into camp, was very anxious 
and alarmed, said there was no pain, suddenly vomited some watery fluid, 
commenced to breathe stertorously, and protruded his tongue : the con- 
junctiva lost sensitiveness; involuntary evacuation of faeces took place; there 
was no pulse ; and only an occasional gasp, or respiration. He vomited about 
one hour and twenty minutes alter being wounded, and died in about seven 
minutes after he had vomited. 



The Antidote. 

The antidote used by the pigmies is prepared from portions of three plants, 
and is a white powder. 

1. leaves. — These are from three or four inches to nearly a foot long, and 
are about three inches wide in the broadest part, of a yellowish or slightly mauve 
colour on the upper surface, and of a pale slate colour underneath (glaucous). 
The plant on which they grow is a bush which rarely exceeds ten or twelve 
feet in height, and is one of the commonest plants in the forest. The stem 
is of a dark green colour, rather rough, and rarely exceeds a couple of inches 
in diameter. 

The wood of the stem is tough. The tap root is long and tapering, witli 
very few branches. The extreme top of each branch is of a brown colour 
and velvety appearance, owing to the number of short brown hairs with 
which it is covered ; there are none of those hairs on the lower part of the 
branches. Only the light coloured yellowish leaves are used, and the midrib 
of these is removed. Some trees have no light coloured leaves, and they 
occur only in the proportion of 1 to 100, or so, when they are found. These 
yellowish leaves are dried in the sun ; and then become browner above, and of 
a darker slate colour beneath. There were no flowers or fruit on the bush. I 
have frequently seen my donkey eat these leaves. 

The Monbuttu name of the tree is Bandoree, and the Wasongora name is 
the same. 

2. Leaves. — These leaves are dark green above, and of a paler green under- 
neath ; the midrib is covered with brownish hairs. On the upper surface of 
the If af thet>e hairs are visible only on the midrib ; but on the underside they 
occur along the lateral veins, and are scattered over the whole surface. The 
leaf is feather-veined, the lateral veins being alternate below, but more or 
less opposite towards the upper half of the leaf. 

The leaves are obtained from a large tree, which grows to a great height in 
the forest ; it is generally one to one and a half feet in diameter. In the 
specimen seen by me the tree had been cut about three feet from the ground, 
and young shoots had sprung up at the margin of the cut surface. These 
shoots were five or six feet long, of a brown colour for the lower third, and 
the upper two-thirds were covered with very numerous small grey-coloured 
hairs ; the bark being light green in the angle of the junction of the shoots, 
and on the cut end of the stem or main trunk. The leaves appear to mostly 
grow opposite each other on the branch, but this is not invariably the case. 



4314 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 




ANTIDOTE NO. 1. — SKETCH OF LEAF AND STEM. 





TRANSVERSE SECTION 
OF STEM. 




ANTIDOTE NO. 2. — SKETCHES OF STEM AND LEAF. 



1888.] 



THE ARROW-POISON OF THE PIGMIES. 



315 



In outline they are lanceolate, with an acuminate apex. In size they are 
from, eight to fourteen inches long, and about three inches broad. The lamina 
without the midrib is used. 

The Monbuttu name of the tree is Meahngahkee : the Wasongora name 
Epoongah. 

3. The Leaves and Scrapings of the Young Branches. — The tree from which 
the leaves are obtained grows to a great height in the forest, and is generally 
about two feet in diameter. The stem of the specimen I saw was only a few 
inches in diameter. The small shoots which grow from the cut surface were 





ANTIDOTE XO. 3. — SKETCHES OF STEM AND LEAF. 



taken, but the small branches of the tree would also do. The branches are 
of a light green colour, like young grass, quite pliable and smooth, except 
where the leaves come off. The leaf "is like No. 2 in shape, but is not hairy, 
and is smaller, about six inches long, and two and a half broad; dark green 
above, and of a lighter colour beneath. 

The midrib of the leaf is thrown away, and the lamina of the leaf pounded 
with a little of the scrapings of the bark of the smooth branches. 

The Monbuttu name for the tree is Ekhahngah : the Wasongora name 
is Whohro. 



316 EJPESIENCES III EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888.. 

TART IL— IDENTIFICATION OF THE MATERIAL. 

By E. M. Holmes, F.L.S. 

The Poison. 

The specimens above described have been kindly presented to the Museum 
of this Society by Surgeon Parke, D.C.L. It has been found possible by means 
of the material existing in the Museum to identify some of them, and it is 
hoped that in course of time, when the botany of the Congo is better known, 
it may be possible to identify the whole. Even with the knowledge now- 
obtained it may be possible for therapeutists to suggest a reliable anti- 
dote for travellers to use when passing through the great Central African 
forest. 

1. Hie Bark. — I at once recognized this as the bark of Erythrophlxum 
Guineense, Don. A specimen of this bark exists in the Museum, obtained,, 
together with specimens of the leaves and flowers, by Dr. S. F. McGill, from 
Cape Palmas, in Liberia. These were shown to Surgeon Parke, who recognized 
the leaves as being like those of the tree from which the No. 1 bark was- 
taken by the Monbuttu woman. In structure, as well as in appearance, the 
bark agrees with that of Erythropldseum Guineense. As only one species of 
this genus is known to occur in the mainland of Africa, although a second 
(E. Couminga, Baill.) is found in the Seychelles, there can be little doubt of 
the identification here given. The Monbuttu and Wasongora names add 
further synonyms to the many names already given by different races to this 
bark, viz., Sassy, Mancona, Casca, etc. 

An excellent summary of the literature of Sassy bjrk will be found m 
Stille and Maisch's 'National Dispensatory' (4th ed.), p. 588. 

The following quotation from that w r ork will show that the symptoms 
exhibited by Lieutenant Stairs' dog were evidently largely due to Sassy bark. 
Eeraarking on its effects on animals (as recorded by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell 
and W. A. Hammond, of Philadelphia, in 1859) the authors say : — 

" Its most conspicuous effect was general muscular relaxation, so that the 

animal would remain quiescent in whatever position it was piaced 

AVhen a fatal dose was administered the head fell and was caught up again, 
and at last reposed on the fore paws, vomiting usually took place, the pupils 
contracted, the heart became slow and irregular, the respiration quick and 
laboured, and at length death occurred with general convulsions and sudden 
dilatation of the pupils." 

2. Large Green Leaf. — This has been identified for me by Mr. C. B. Clarke, 
M.A., (who has paid special attention to the group of plants to which it belongs) 
as Palisota Barteri, Benth., of the natural order Commelynacex. The plant is 
figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 5318. 

There is, however, some little difficulty concerning this plant. I have 
myself seen the specimens of P. Barter l in the Kew Herbarium, and find 
that the leaves of different specimens vary slightly in hairiness, &c, but the 
leaf brought by Surgeon Parke exactly corresponds with one specimen of 
P. Barteri in the Kew Herbarium, collected in the land of the Monbuttu by 
Dr. Schweinfurth, in April, 1870, No. 3721. 

Surgeon Parke mentions the flower as being strongly perfumed and several 
inches in diameter. But the flowers of Palisota Barteri are very small, and 
are arranged in a dense raceme two or three inches long. The description of 
the flower given by Surgeon Parke would apply to a Hedychium but not to 
the Palisota. 

Surgeon Parke assures me, however, that there is no doubt about the leaf 
beiug the one used, although he may be mistaken about the flower, which 



1883.] THE ARROW-POISON OF THE PIGMIES. 317 

may have belonged to another plant with leaves similar in appearance. The 
leaves of Palisota Barter i are described in the Botanical Magazine as being 
only " one to two feet long, with a petiole of variable length," which is only 
half or one-third the size of those observed by Dr. Parke. There can, how- 
ever, be no question that the leaf used for the arrow poison is that of a Corn- 
melynaceous plant, and very little doubt that it is the leaf of P. Barteri. 
The plants of this natural order are not, that I am aware of, known to 
possess poisonous properties, although several are used as diuretics, etc. 
This ingredient of the poison need not therefore be considered an im- 
portant one. 

3. Thorny Creeper. — This consists of a hollow woody stem about three or 
four lines in diameter, with whorls of three spines at intervals of about four 
or five inches. The spines, which are the hardened bases of the petioles of 
fallen leaves, are slightly bent backward, and have the remains of a hairy leaf 
bud in the axil. The bark is smooth and laminate in structure, the lamina} 
breaking up easily into flat fibres. On examination with a lens the medullary 
rays are seen to be very numerous and narrow, and the season's growth is 
marked by an irregular ring of large porous vessels. When a little of the 
bark is chewed the taste is not perceptibly bitter. On showing the stem to 
Mr. N. E. Brown, of the Kew Herbarium, he suggested the genus Combretum 
as containing some plants having a similar habit of growth. On looking 
through the African species in the Kew Herbarium, however, I could not 
find any stem exactly like it. I then forwarded a piece of the stem to 
Dr. Radlkofer, of Munich, who is probably the greatest authority in Europe 
on stem structure. He replied, " the stem is a Combretum" 

In the ' Fiora of Tropical Africa/ vol. ii., pp. 421 to 433, there are two 
species which resemble Dr. Parke's thorny creeper in certain particulars. 
One is C. confertum, Laws., a native of the Congo and Fernando Po, which 
has smooth dark brown bark, and the bases of the leaves form persistent 
spines. It is also described as a twining shrub, and in the ' Niger Flora ' the 
young branches and petioles are said to be puberulent, which agrees with the 
fact that small brown simple hairs are present on the leaf-bud. 

In another species, C. grandiflorum, Don., which is also found in the 
Congo, and is a scandent shrub, the internodes are four or five inches apart, 
and the bark is of a dark colour. 

But in neither of these species in the herbaria at Kew and the British 
Museum are there three thorns in a whorl. 

In the absence of leaves, therefore, the most that can be said is that the 
stem is derived from a species of Combretum, and probably either that of 
C. confertum or C. grandiflorum, or of an undescribed species. 

Comparatively little is known of the physiological action of the plants of 
this natural order. The species of the genus Terminalia are remarkable for 
iheir astringency, and some of them for a yellow colouring matter ; those of 
Quisqualis possess anthelmintic properties, Q. indica occasionally causing 
.spasms and other ill effects ; and the seeds of Cacoucia coccinea are used as a 
poison for bats in British Guiana. 

A few preliminary experiments made at my request upon a small portion 
of the thorny creeper, by Dr. F. W. Passmore, indicate that there is no 
alkaloid and no tannin present, but evidence was obtained of the presence of 
a glucoside. 

(It may be interesting to mention in this connection that the seed of the 
Cacoucia was examined by Mr. F. Short, Demonstrator in the Society's 
Laboratory, and was found to contain a crystalline body which gave the re- 
actions for an alkaloid. It is quite possible, therefore, that the thorny creeper 
may possess a poisonous action, although, the taste does not indicate it.) 

4. Green Stem. — Judging from the structure of the stem* and from the 



In this I am confirmed by Dr. L. Radlkofer, who has seen the stem. 



318 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [188S. 

character of the single imperfect leaf brought home by Surgeon Parke, this 
ingredient consists of the stems of a species of Strychnos, probably 8. Icaja, 
Baillon. The scars on the stem are opposite and indicate opposite leaves, and 
the venation of the leaf is that characteristic of the genus Strychnos. Of this 
genus there are several African species known, but only two of these have 
leaves as large as the one under consideration. Of these the S. Icaja, Bail], 
(»S'. M'boundou of Heckel) is known to be used in the Gaboon as an arrow 
poison and to be employed by the pigmies. * 

In the Hanbury Herbarium there exists a specimen of this plant, and on 
seeing Surgeon Parke's specimen, I at once recognized the strong resemblance 
to this plant which it possessed. On showing the Hanbury specimen to 
Surgeon Parke he pointed out the acuminate apex of the leaf as having- 
particularly attracted his attention in the growing plant and expressed no- 
doubt concerning their identity. The physiological action of this Strychnos 
has not been very satisfactorily determined, although it is known to be 
poisonous. Eabuteau (1870) attributed its action to brucine, Kauffeisen to- 
two alkaloids, the one a convulsant and the other a narcotic. According to 
Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen the bark contains strychnine but not brucine.. 
They state that the parenchyma of the liber can be proved to contain this 
alkaloid by the use of sulphuric acid and bichromate of potassium, -which give 
the well known colour reaction of strychnine in this part of the tissue of 
the bark. 

It seems possible, therefore, that the tetanic symptoms which were observed 
in all the men who died at Avisibba, may have been due to the action of 
strychnine contained in these leaves, and which might have been absorbed 
more slowly than the Sassy poison. At all events, Surgeon Parke notes that 
it is remarkable that all those wounded by poisoned arrows died of tetanus, 
whilst those who were otherwise wounded did not suffer from tetanus. At 
first he felt inclined to think the tetanus might be traumatic, but his subse- 
quent experience did not confirm this opinion. 

5. Seeds. — These seeds Surgeon Parke tells me were found in a hut, and 
were not gathered from the plant. They are about the size of a small apple 
pip, being a quarter of an inch long and rather more than one-eighth of an inch 
broad at the larger end. The hilum is small, oval, and placed on the tapering 
end of the seed. In transverse section the seed is seen to be exalbuminous 
with the radicle accumbent. Thinking the seed might be that of a Tephrosia,. 
several plants of this genus being used as fish poisons in Africa, I compared 
it with the seed of Tephrosia Vogelii, a well known African species, with which 
it agrees perfectly. By the kindness of the Curator of the Kew Museum,. 
Mr. J. R. Jackson, I am enabled to show some of this seed for comparison. 



* Strychnos Icaja was so named by Dr. H. Baillon from specimens given 
to him by MM. Franquet and Aubrey Lecomte in 1853-4. These specimens 
were not in flower and consisted of leaves and roots. The plant grows in the 
Gaboon, especially about the Isle of Koniquet. It has also been gathered 
near the river Como. Dr. Baillon described S. Icaja as having leaves 10-15 
centimetres long, and 7 or 8 broad, with a petiole of 1 centimetre long, the 
veinlets between the three main ribs of the leaf being transverse or oblique. 
In the Kew Herbarium there is a specimen of a plant collected by Dr. Schwein- 
furth, Xo. 3597, in the land of the Monbutti, in flower in April, 4870, which 
answers to the above description. This plant is referred to S. densijlora, Baill., 
a species collected by Heudelot near Fouta Dhiallon in Senegambia, but which 
differs from S. Icaja in the shorter leaves with a shorter acuminate point. 
In the absence of the flowers of S. Icaja, Baill., it is not possible to say 
whether this plant is merely a form of S. densijlora or a distinct species (see 
' Adamsonia,' xii., p. 369). The leaf brought home by Surgeon Parke, how- 
ever, resembles the S. Icaja more than the typical S. densijlora. 



1888.] THE ARROW-POISON OF THE PI&M1ES. 319' 

The properties of the genus Tephrosia appear to be of a narcotic character, but 
required further investigation.* 

It is obvious, therefore, that in this arrow poison the two chief active 
ingredients are erythrophlceine and strychnine, poisons the action of which is 
known, and for which it is by no means impossible that a physiological 
antidote could be provided. 

Antidotes. 

The native antidote consists of the leaves of three plants and the young bark 
of one of the plants. The white powder which is prepared, has been 
examined by Sir Charles CameroD, of Dublin, and proves to consist simply of 
wood ashes. It is " an alkaline material containing carbonate of. potassium, 
chloride of potassium, and carbonate and phosphate of calcium. It is, of 
course, a caustic and antacid." 

Of the three plants employed only leaves and stem were brought home, and 
these do not possess any very definite distinctive character except No. 1, the 
leaves of which have a remarkable glaucous appearance on the under surface, 
and under the microscope present numerous resin glands. Professor Oliver, 
late Keeper of the Kew Herbarium, suggests the genus Unona. as that to 
which the leaf probably belongs. I have compared the leaves with the plants 
of the genus both at Kew and the British Museum, and, find that they 
approach very nearly to U. lucidula, Oliv., but differ slightly, in venation and 
in the presence of appressed hairs, those of the antidote being spreading. The 
plants of the Anonacese are chiefly remarkable for aromatic and stimulant 
properties. 

Nos. 2 and 3 must therefore remain unidentified until better material can. 
be obtained. This, however, is of comparatively little importance, since, the 
nature of the poison being known, it may be quite possible for therapeutists 
to devise an antidote superior to the one used by the pigmies. 

[It will be easily seen that there are two chief poisons 
used in the above pigmy preparation for arrows, and both 
of which have quite different actions. When Erytliroph- 
Iseum is in excess in the poison, then muscular relaxation is 
the prominent symptom ; when Strychnos forms the principal 
ingredient, tetanic symptoms are present — therefore the 
different physiological actions exhibited by our men and by 
Stairs' dog are easily explained and understood.] 

Nov. 28. — To-day I tabulated some of the results of my 
experiences of our farming operations, they are as follows : 

* After this paper was read, I received from Sir C. Cameron one of the 
seeds sent him by Surgeon Parke. This proves on examination to be the seed 
of Erythrophlxum Guineense, and is the one used in the poison, vide Sketch. 
No. 5 (Poison), as it is the produce of a large, tree, not a shrub. — E. M. H. 



!20 



EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. 



[1888. 



— 


Interval between 
Planting and Appear- 
ance above Ground. 


From Appearance 

above Ground till 

Ripening. 


Observations. 




Mons. 


Weeks.' Days. 


Mons. 


Weeks. 


Days. 








1 








[Sometimes 


Indian com 


.. 


.. 


4 


3 





10 


| takes 4 months 


Peas .... 






10 
4 
8 


2 
2 

8 



3 



2 




( to ripen. 


Beans .... 






( Kidney beans 
( took 52 days. 


Matemmali 






Onions. 






20 


3 










Watermelons. 


, 




12 


4 


2 







Pumpkins . 
Brinjals 


•• 


2 


8 



3 
2 




2 






None of these 


Peringanis . 
Rice . 


1 



1 






4 
5 






°o\ 


were ever wa- 
tered artifi- 
cially; rain- 
water sufficed. 



The scouts, on returning to-day, reported that the elephants 
had destroyed a very large portion of the banana plantation. 
Now, the scouting party go out twice a week, and their duty 
is to keep off the natives, and the elephants ; and also to 
report the results of their observations every day. They had 
been over the same ground a few days ago, and had told us 
nothing of the existence of any damage of this kind. When 
cross-examined on this point, and asked why they did not 
give an earlier report of the mischief, which they now say 
had been going on for some time, their chief, Ali Jumba, 
replied, " Oh ! if I had reported this, you might have thought 
that I wanted to go to the plain." I do believe that the real 
reason for their silence was to give the elephants time to 
destroy all the bananas, so that they could then say with some 
show of reason, " We must go to the plain now, as there is no 
food to be got here." This is a typical specimen of the 
Zanzibari method of doing things "right and straight" for 
the white man. 

Nov. 29. — We overhauled some of our rifles and ammunition. 

Stairs went out with the scouts to-day, on account of the 
unsatisfactory nature of the report of yesterday. He has 
just returned after visiting the scene of the alleged mis- 
chievous attempts of the elephants to destroy all our bananas. 



1888.] THE ABBOW-POISON OF THE PIGMIES. 321 

He found that the actual damage was little or nothing On 
his rounds he discovered a new plantation where there are 
plenty of bananas. 

Nov. 30. — The men finished the planting of the small fields 
to the east of the Fort, to-day ; all the farm is now sown 
with corn and beans, &c, excepting a few small patches, 
which are to be utilised for tobacco, a few small plots of peas, 
and a few other minor items. 

Dec. 1. — The first day of the last month, and Christmas in 
twenty-four days ! We are already puzzling our wits about the 
invention of a dinner for Christmas ; our available materials- 
consist of bananas, herbs, peas, beans, corn and rice. There 
are no fresh fruits in this neighbourhood, except mabunga 
(fruit of the india-rubber vine). We make a very filling (but 
flatulent) soup from skinned beans. We also provide a good 
dish of greens, by boiling the tops and flowers of the pumpkin. 
However, notwithstanding the elementary nature of our diet, 
both Stairs and myself are in good health, and strong. Nelson 
is still very delicate ; he sleeps well, and cannot take much 
exercise, but he never will thoroughly recover until he gets 
meat. 

Dec. 2. — First Sunday in Advent. I had a severe attack 
of fever on yesterday afternoon, the first since the 26th of 
October, A heavy shower of hail fell this morning, makings 
the fourth shower which has fallen within the last twelve 
months. There had been no rain for several days until 
Saturday last. 

Mr. Stanley is due here, according to his own calculation, 
in about fourteen days ; by the same authority he is to reach 
the Albert Nyanza on the 2nd of January, 1889. 
Dec. 3.— .... 

Dec. 4. — I went out this morning with a party of nine men, 
to reconnoitre the position, &c, of the plantation. We came 
upon six natives, who lay in ambush and shot at us with 
poisoned arrows. They escaped, as they always do, they are 
so extraordinarily nimble ; and when they have got a yard or 
two ahead into the bush, it is impossible to see them on 
account of the extreme density of the foliage. One of my 
men was wounded : a native woman was hit in the leg. 

At a short distance further off, we found a few banana 
leaves, mounted on sticks, and arranged so as to from a 

Y 



?>22 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

shade to keep off rain. Some of the natives had evidently 
used this as a camping-ground for a short period, for we found 
some dried bananas lying about : also some bows, quivers, and 
arrows ; we were more gratified to find three earthen pots, 
which the natives use in cooking. I took these, as we 
wanted them badly, for most of ours had been broken since we 
settled at the Fort. We also found a little porridge (scalded 
banana) flour, which had been just freshly made ; and a few 
leathern belts, which is the only native article of apparel. 
The discovery of this sample of porridge here struck me as very 
peculiar ; the first place where we had seen bananas dried and 
pounded into flour was at Ugarrowwa's camp — even the 
Zanzibaris, and the other natives, whom we have met on our 
line of progress, had not known this method of preparing 
bananas for food, till they saw it used by us. So it is evident 
that the few natives with whom we had become intimate on 
our way, had returned to their villages, and told their neigh- 
bours what they had seen us do. 

Ever since we learned this method of preparing our 
bananas, we have been able to diminish our risk of starvation 
very considerably. We can make enough flour in one day for 
several days' rations ; and the weight is so much less than that 
of the corresponding quantity of the green bananas, that men 
can carry a considerable number of days' rations with them, in 
addition to their other loads, whereas they could not manage 
more than a couple of days' supply of the green bananas. 
The banana flour is most nutritious, and very sustaining. 

We have commenced the cutting-down of our rice crop 
to-day ; it is an exceptionally rich one, and had never been 
artificially watered from the beginning. The great downpour 
of rain, which occurred in copious quantity for a considerable 
time, proved amply sufficient. 

Great quantities of locusts of various colours, green, brown, 
and black, came to the rice field ; they are not unlike grass- 
hoppers in appearance and size. We catch them in hundreds, 
toast them on the frying-pan, where they are cooked with a 
" hop " and a " crack ; " and eat them as a condiment. To-day 
I measured a high jump which had been cleared by an 
elephant ; it was over eight feet in perpendicular elevation. I 
had previously thought the ungainly animal incapable of such 
a gymnastic feat. 



1888.] TEE ABROW-POISON OF THE PIGMIES. 323 

My Monbuttu woman informed me to-day that the Wam- 
bntti and Wasongora men have but one wife each — that is for 
an ordinary inhabitant; but the Sultans of the villages 
indulge in three or four. The average number of children 
— by the same parents— is about six or seven. She also tells 
me that if a native says to the husband of a woman, " Give me 
your wife," he will be shot at with arrows by the husband — not 
unlike what sometimes happens in less barbarous countries. 

The woman who had been shot yesterday, on being ap- 
proached by one of our men, made a spasmodic effort, seized 
.a knife from the ground, which had been dropped near her by 
one of the men in running away, and made a vicious attempt 
to stab the Zanzibari who had approached to help her. 



y 2 



324 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [18881 



CHAPTER XVJL 

LIFE AT FORT EODO. 

Traps for catching ants — Condiment made of mixed and pressed ants — Ny 
boy Muftah plays further tricks on me — Native method of catching fish 
in the river — Narcotic effect exercised on the fish by a plant — A sub- 
stitute for table salt obtained from the Pistia Stratiotes — Muftah run 3 
away from me for the third time — His submissive return — Weight of 
Nelson, Stairs, and myself — A Zanzibari game resembling draughts — We 
cut our rice crop — Preparing the rice grain — We divide a quantity of 
unhusked rice — The continued drought detrimental to our crops — By a 
simple device Stairs finds the true north, and also ascertains the time of 
day — Stairs and myself down with fever — No excuse for Emin Pasha's- 
non-appearance — Elephants plunder our banana plantation— We manu- 
facture fairly serviceable boots for ourselves, after the fashion of Veldt- 
schoons — Operation of removing a guinea-worm from one of the Mahdi 
men — Damage by rats — A welcome downpour of rain — Nelson treats us- 
to some pombe, or banana wine — The soldiers ofEquatoiia — Hopes for 
Mr. Stanley's return — The colour of our corn — We have a greater variety 
of food — Dining a la carte. 

Dec. 5. — This morning I went into the forest, with my 
Monbuttu attendant, to make traps for collecting ants, as 
they are very good eating when properly prepared. They are- 
mostly winged. We catch them by making large holes close- 
to the ant-hills, and putting a little fire in the bottom of each. 
During the night the ants get into the hole, being attracted 
by the heat, and in the morning great quantities are there — for 
us to do with as we think proper. We find them of various 
colours, black, brown, and white. They are mashed and 
pressed together ; and, when cooked in this way, make a good 
hitewayo (condiment), which gives important aid in the- 
cligestion of the stuff which we are obliged to use with such 
monotonous uniformity day after day. The black ants, make 
a dark paste, not unlike caviare; the white ones, a similar 
paste, but, of course, of a light colour, and more piquant as 
they are much fatter. 

My Wangwana boy, Muftah, has been trying a new edition 
of his tricks on me latterly. My Monbuttu woman con- 



13SS.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 325 

ficlentially informed me that he ate my fish last night. He 
had fervently declared to me on returning in the evening that 
he had not canght any. The earnestness of his asseverations 
made me suspicions ; I had, however, already had my doubts, 
.as he has for some time been bringing me but a few small 
fish at a time, while Nelson's and Stairs' boys brought them 
& much greater number, and of far larger size. Accordingly, 
I went out in the afternoon with this hopeful boy, accom- 
panied by my faithful Monbuttu, and one of the men, to 
see the fish-baskets ; which were set in holes in different 
parts of the river. 1 had them all taken up, and brought 
further up in the river — to new places, for a change. I had 
sent him out with definite instructions to do this on Monday 
last (3rd inst.) ; and he returned to inform me that he had 
brought six baskets to places higher up in the river. This 
statement, as, indeed, I had already more than half sus- 
pected, I now found to have been a lie. 

When I returned to camp there was a terrible commotion 
amongst the boys, as Nelson's boy, Osmani, charged Muftah 
with having lifted six of his baskets. This is considered a 
great crime among the men ; as fish form their only hitewayo. 
This leaves me but four baskets, instead of ten. I also found 
out that Muftah had brought three of my baskets to his friend 
Petteh, obviously to give the latter an opportunity of setting 
them in some pool to catch fish for himself, as all were in good 
order and completely rigged up, requiring no repair. On 
-arriving at camp, the young rascal, Muftah, came up to me, 
-and asked me if he could go to cut wood. I gave him per- 
mission, and he has not yet returned to get my place ready 
for dinner, or make my bed : I expect that it is the burden 
of his guilty conscience which retards his footsteps. 

The fish are very numerous in the river; it is fortunate that 
the supply has been kept up, as each man has a basket in the 
river every day. They are very small, and resemble minnows 
or gudgeon. They are caught in the stream from which we 
draw water for drinking and cooking ; this is distant from the 
fort about 150 yards, and is in no way contaminated by the 
sewerage or refuse from the latter. There are certain limits 
told off for washing and bathing ; and other special portions 
for drawing drinking water only. 

There is a small plant which grows here, the leaves of 



326 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [I88& 

which — when thrown into the water — appear to exercise a 
narcotic effect of some kind on the fish. Some of the latter, 
soon after the leaves have been placed in the water, are seen 
to float — belly upwards — and can then be easily canght ; but,, 
if left alone, they always recover after some hours, and are- 
able to swim away. The fish-baskets are ingeniously made 
with rattan cane, and are of the same design as those used by 
the natives on the Congo, Aruwimi, and Ituri rivers. 

There is a small green plant, not unlike young lettuce, 
which grows flat over the surface of swamps, and in enormous 
quantities, so as completely to cover over the surface of such 
places. It sends down a great number of rootlets, which 
interlace and form a network, strong enough to support a 
weight of two or three pounds. When these leaves are 
collected and dried, the natives prepare a substitute for table- 
salt from them, by burning and collecting the ashes. They 
are greatly used for this purpose by the inhabitants of the 
forest, who have no other source from which to obtain salt for 
domestic uses. The salt so obtained has an alkaline (potash), 
as well as a salt, taste. The plant, when fully grown, is not 
unlike the house-leek (Pistia stratiotes). 

Dec. 6. — Muftah has not yet returned to me ; I suspect, 
however, that he slept in the fort last night all the same, 
with some of the men — all Zanzibaris are of the same caste 
and disposition, and are very clannish. I have now got but 
H\-e fish-baskets instead of eleven — I put a new one in yester- 
day. I did suspect, when making my investigation yester- 
day, that all the baskets were not mine, and tolcl Muftah as 
much ; but with the usual Zanzibari self-possession and inven- 
tive power, he almost succeeded in persuading me that they 
were all mine. He has now left me for a couple of days, after 
which I feel certain that he will return, prostrate himself on 
the earth before me, creep towards me, and kiss my boots in 
evidence of devoted humiliation. When asked why he ran 
away, and reminded that there was no one to get me anything* 
to eat, make my bed, &c, &c, he will say, " I was afraid of 
you, master, to return;" the odious young wretch ought to say, 
" I was ashamed of myself." I will cure him of some of these 
tricks when I catch him ; and also give him some reason to be 
afraid of me in future, by having him held down and breaking 
a few saplings over the prominences of his surface. This is 






1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 327 

the third time the villain has run away from me, and I have 
made the same vow every time, but have never carried it out. 
I believe that he would be a much better boy if I had been a 
little more severe with him. Sometimes he attains the sum- 
mit of my admiration, and sometimes he is down at zero. 

We white men weighed ourselves to-day ; Stairs has in- 
creased in weight by eight pounds since Oct. 2nd ; Kelson 
has lost two pounds ; I have lost exactly the same amount as 
Xelson. 

Stairs 151 lbs. 

Nelson 138 „ 

Parke 148 „ 

Muftah came back this afternoon, and, as I had anticipated, 
approached on his hands and knees to kiss my feet. So I at 
once sent for one of the men, and had a dozen " administered " 
to him with a cane ; it is not too much, as the Zanzibari 
hide is very thick. It is strange that the Zanzibaris, if com- 
manded by one of us whites, will immediately seize on one 
of their comrades, hold him down, and give him the rod, till 
told to stop ; I have never known one of them to refuse. 

I have manufactured a draught-board and draughts, so that 
we may have an occasional game. The Zanzibaris are con- 
tinually playing a game very like draughts — making holes in 
the ground as a substitute for squares, and using sticks or 
stones for draughtsmen. 

Dec. 7. — The first cutting of the rice is finished to-day; 
there was exactly one acre of ground planted. It took ten-and- 
a-half cups of rice to plant it, and the return now is 118 cups 
of rice to one cup of seed ; but there is to be yet another 
cutting, as the blades which were not quite ripe are left for 
six or eight days longer to ripen, when perhaps one-sixth of 
the above return will be added. The rice-crop has taken 
exactly five months to ripen from the day it was sown. It is 
very easily threshed. In cutting down, only about a foot of 
length of the straw is removed with the blade. This is laid 
on the ground, and the straw is struck and threshed with 
sticks ; so as to shake out the rice-grain above, without 
bruising it. This is done by men who remain sitting down 
during the process. The husk is afterwards removed, by 
pounding in a wooden mortar, and sifting ; this process 
separates the rice completely from the husk. Locusts and 



328 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

birds are very destructive to the rice-crop, especially a kind 
of weaver-bird of blackish colour (excepting the breast which 
is white), this bird always goes about in flocks, and does great 
mischief. 

Dec. 8. — Stairs went off with a scouting party to-day. 
I have since heard three shots, but do not know what they 
are all about. The peas have now grown too long to remain 
upright ; so we have been occupying our spare time to-day in 
attaching them to rods for support. They have been in flower 
for several days. 

Stairs has now returned ; there was a collision with some 
elephants, and all three shots which we heard took effect. 

Dec. 9.— 

Dec. 10. — Yesterday and to-day, Stairs and I amused our- 
selves by planting each side of the " Albert Nyanza Avenue " 
with brinjals. 

Dec. 11.— 

Dec. 12. — Nelson went with a party scouting to-day, but 
saw nothing. 

Stairs had an attack of fever yesterday — the first for a long 
time. He is somewhat better to-day — temperature only 101° F. 
We divided a quantity of unhusked rice to-day : it amounted 
to twenty-eight-and-a-half peechis (each peechi contains four- 
teen cups) in the husked state. (Without the husks each 
peechi represents between live and six cups. When there is 
very little else to eat with it, two cups (or about one pound) is 
enough for a single day's ration.) Of this quantity, we shall 
have to give some — say 100 cups in all — from each of our 
shares, for distribution among the men. About one-and-a-half 
pecks will be enough for each of our three shares. We are 
also keeping three peckfuls over for seed, and are reserving 
twenty cups for Emin Pasha. 

Dec. 13. — I have now been appointed head gardener of the 
community. We have very few vegetables to plant which are 
really worth growing. 

Stairs' fever still continues, although not very high — his 
temperature is 100-2° F. I am giving him antipyrin, also 
Warburg's tincture. 

I had a good feed of locusts for luncheon — about sixty of 
them ; they went very well with half a cup of rice. The men 
are all repairing their huts to-day, and thatching them with 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 329 

bauana-leaves ; as they are in very bad condition — both walls 
and roofs. 

There has been no rain now for four days ; if this drought 
-continues much longer our corn-crops will be ruined by the 
.scorching sun. Whenever it rains here we call it fine iveatlier. 

Stairs, who is of a somewhat scientific turn of mind, found 
the true north to-day by a very simple device ; and also ascer- 
tained the time of day. He placed a small stick upright in 
the ground; then described a circle with the stick as centre ; 
this was done before noon. Then, as the sun ascended higher 
and higher in the heavens, the shadow of the stick grew 
shorter and shorter, till the sun arrived at the meridian. This, 
of course, was exactly at noon, a point of time which cor- 
responded to the moment when the length of shadow had 
attained its minimum extension. This point was exactly 
defined by repeating the observations for a couple of days, and 
marking exactly the curve described by the shadow on the 
ground. The radius of the circle traced around the stick was 
intermediate between the extreme length of the shadow, so 
that the position of minimum length of the latter was accurately 
defined — by taking the two points at which the line of shadow 
intersected the circle, and bisecting the line of junction. The 
line joining the middle point with the position of the stick 
itself then gave the line of the shadow at twelve o'clock noon : 
it also indicates the position of the meridian of Fort Bodo. 
The magnetic north is here sixteen decrees to the east of the 
geographical north. 

Dec. 14. — Stairs went off with the men to-day, to look for 
bananas. Both he and I had high fever last night — each of 
us having a temperature of over 104° F. I attribute our recent 
attacks to the fact that the ground has been deeply hoecl for 
planting our corn-crop. This has been done all around the 
Fort ; and the operation has, pretty evidently, I think, set the 
malaria floating about in quantity. All three of us had 
remained pretty free from fever while the corn stood high, 
and the ground had remained unbroken for some considerable 
time. There has been no rain for the past five or six clays. 

On this day twelvemonth, Mr. Stanley arrived at the Albert 
Nyanza for the first time : we may have still another twelve 
months of these peregrinations before us, and all because 
Emin Pasha did not come in his steamers to meet us. He might 



330 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888.. 

have done so : for he had been informed by letters from Zan- 
zibar that we should arrive on the 14th of the month, and we- 
actually gained our destination on the 13th, a day earlier than 
the one named. So that there was really no excuse for his 
non-appearance. He might have come down to warn the 
natives; and I suppose would have done so if he had had 
control over his men, so as to be able to utilise his steamers,, 
and move about in them as he wished. 

Dec. 15. — I went out with the scouts to-day, and lighted 
some huge fires, as the smoke is certainly the most effectual 
weapon for keeping the elephants away. The brutes have 
again been plundering our banana plantations ; and, if allowed 
to persist in their raids, would soon uproot everything in the 
shape of a banana-tree to be found in the whole neighbour- 
hood. 

We are now furnished with fairly serviceable boots, which 
we have made ourselves, after the fashion of veldtschoons ; the 
soles are made of rhinoceros or hippo-hide, and the uppers 
are constructed from ox-hide. They wear very well, except for 
the stitching, which is always giving way — a bad testimony to 
our amateur skill. We sew with thin leathern thongs, or with 
twine or cord — which the natives prepare from grass and palm 
fibres. However, shaky as these structures are, they are very 
useful in protecting our feet from thorns, insects, sharp stones, 
and poisoned spikes which the natives place in the paths to 
prevent our advance. After being worn for some days in 
succession, and kept constantly soaked by having to wacle 
through so many streams, they develop an offensive smell, as 
they are not tanned. Stairs turns out the most fashionable- 
looking article ; the specimens of his make always have pointed 
toes ; none of us attempt anything in the way of heels. One 
of us can make a pair of shoes in two days by working steadily 
at them. All members of the advance column, including Mr. 
Stanley himself, Jephson, and ourselves, are now reduced to 
wearing these imitations of civilised manufacture. 

Dec. 16. — Exactlv six months a^'o Mr. Stanlev left here for 
Yambuya, so that by this time he ought to be near us on his 
return to the lake. 

One of the Mahdi men here got a small swelling on his leg- 
three days ago, which appeared like a boil. I suspected that 
it was a guinea-worm, as its presence is usually manifested in 



1888.] LIFE AT FORT BODO. 331 

this way, and it nearly always appears on one of the lower 
extremities. On examining it this morning, I found that the 
skin had ulcerated over the most prominent part of the swell- 
ing ; and the worm formed a small projecting cord, like a 
piece of white thread. I adjusted a clove-hitch of strong 
thread around the creature, and coiled a portion of it round a 
small piece of stick ; by repeating this winding process care- 
fully it will all be got away — if no break occurs — within 
about ten days. The specimens which we have seen are about 
four feet long — they may vary from one to twelve feet. Some- 
times the head is the first part to protrude, sometimes a loop 
of the body. In the latter case, it has to be treated in the 
same way, only requiring extra care on account of having two 
segments to deal with. 

The man who is the subject of this attack of the parasite, 
had been free from all symptoms of guinea-worm since he left 
the Mahdi country — in the beginning of May last ; accord- 
ingly, the worm has taken all that time to incubate and 
mature, viz., seven-and-a-half months; as it is almost certain 
that he did not get the worm since he left his own country in 
May. None of our men have ever shown any evidence of the 
presence of guinea- worm, although they wash and wade in 
every kind of waters, and have done so all through our African 
pilgrimage — both in the forest and on the plain. On the other 
hand, everybody in the Mahdi country seems to be taxed for 
the support of the parasite. Our men do not even take the 
precaution of drying themselves afterwards ; so that I think if 
there was any chance of anybody getting a stray guinea-worm 
they would have succeeded in securing it. 

Every other day a man comes to me to show a bit of his nose, 
finger, or toe nibbled off; or with a deep hole burrowed into the 
base of a sloughing ulcer : this is done by the rats while the 
individual is asleep. 

We had a steady downpour of rain this morning, which 
lasted from 4 a.m. till 10 a.m. If not too late already, it is 
the only chance of salvation for our crops, which have been 
thoroughly parched by the late scorching heat and drought of 
six or seven days. 

I have five earthen pots in my room, collecting the leakage, 
and would require about twenty more, to save the floor at all 
well. 



332 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

Dec. 17. — ^Nelson treated us to some pornbe (banana wine) 
to-day ; it was really very good, although made from bananas 
which were not at all ripe. This beverage is prepared by 
cutting two or three bunches of ripe bananas into pieces of half 
an inch in length ; adding two gallons of water, and leaving it 
to stand. On the third day it is a really delicious drink. At 
first it has a sweet tart taste, which after four or five days 
becomes very acid. In a day or two more, it changes to a fluid 
having qualities very like those of vinegar : quite as sour in 
taste and smell. If boiled down on the third day, it makes a 
good syrup. 

I employed myself till noon to-day, in hoeing up weeds in 
the garden. We think that the real reason why Jephson has 
not come with the carriers to relieve us before now is, that 
Emin is afraid to trust his men with so much of our ammuni- 
tion : they would probably, on getting hold of it, decide to 
jemain where they are, and utilise it to protect themselves 
from hostilities. All the soldiers are natives of Equatoria, and 
almost, if not quite all, of the Egyptians are convicts from 
Egypt ; so that it is perfectly natural that they would prefer 
to live where they are — in coarse luxury. 

Dec. 18. — There is nothing new in these parts to-day — except 
a full moon. This is the day on which Mr. Stanley said that he 
icoidd he here on his return from Yambuya. 

Dec. 19. — We are hoping that Mr. Stanley may now come 
at any moment ; or, perhaps, a detachment of the men under 
charge of an officer, to convey the loads which are lying here, on 
to where he may strike the path — perhaps anywhere between 
this place and the plain. It would have been much better and 
pleasanter if Jephson had only come to us, as we could then 
have removed all our things comfortably to the Albert Nyanza, 
without having this dismally long sojourn at Eort Bodo. We 
cannot explain his absence, excepting that he has been taken 
prisoner, for we know his almost proverbial energy, and how 
anxious both he and Emin Pasha were to come and relieve 
us at the Fort. The latter was specially anxious to have the 
opportunity of seeing the Fort, and the forest, and of adding 
to his natural history collections by the way. 

The effects of the great heat and want of rain are beginning 
to manifest themselves in our corn-crop ; which is turning its 
colour from its former beautiful dark green to a lighter tint, 






1888.] LIFE AT FORT BO DO. 333 

interspersed with streaks of almost pure white — an infallible 
indication of its failure. 

A scouting party is again out to-day after elephants. On 
the whole, we get along very well with the men, and but 
rarely haye we to inflict any punishments. Stairs is a splendid 
hand at managing them ; he visits the sentries twice every 
night. We have a greater variety of food now, as the 
Monbuttu and our boys have discovered many new kinds of 
leaves, bulbs and pods ; which, if not always, strictly speak- 
ing, pleasant to the eye, are, we have found, tolerably good 
for food, at least to persons living under circumstances of 
enforced vegetarianism. These we bruise up together as an 
mboga, which we find fairly enjoyable as a change from our 
previously limited menu : we now dine a la carte. 



Sot EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

ARKIVAL OF THE BEAR COLUMN AT FORT BODO. 

Mr. Stanley up to date in his marches — He arrives with the rear column 
— His careworn and ragged appearance — The melancholy history of the 
rear column — Shocking condition of the men with ulcers — A terrible 
period of starvation experienced by them a few miles from the Fort — 
Bonny is sent back for some loads — Nelson, Stairs and myself, discuss 
the story of the wreck of the rear column — After burying a large glass 
bottle Nelson and Bonny destroy the Fort — Commencement of our third 
march to Lake Albert — Mr. Stanley makes me a timely present of some 
blue serge — Our Christmas dinner — Accident to my box of clothes at 
Banalya — -Distribution of European provisions among the officers— Loss 
of Zanzibaris during the forest march from arrow-wounds — Nelson the 
best cook of the Expedition — Letters brought me by Bonny from 
Yambuya — The porterage of our tents and other baggage — Mr. Stanley 
■and I remodel our tents — Two victims to the horrors of starvation — 
Bonny rather reserved about the rear column business — My New Year 
wishes — Review of the past eventful year — A Nubian wounded by 
natives — Difficult task of removing six iron-headed arrows from his 
body — Some Zanzibari characteristics — Our wounded Nubian doing well 
— Dreadful smell from the huge gangrenous ulcers — Manyuema women : 
their dress and extremely handsome appearance — Another instance of 
"African affection" — We camp at Mande — Stanley's Starvation Camp — 
Arrival at Mount Pisgah — We halt at Kandekore. 

Dec. 20. — At about 10 a.m., I was talking to a Zanzibari 
named Yakouti, who was doing duty as sentry on the top of 
the little eminence on the Albert Nyanza Avenue. In the 
course of our conversation, he volunteered the remark that Mr. 
Stanley would not arrive for two-and-a-half months ; and, just 
as I was in the act of explaining to him that he had so far 
been up to date in his marches, and that this had been 
evidenced by his arrival at Zanzibar, at the Congo, at the 
Aruwimi, at the Albert Nyanza (one day too soon), and his 
relief of Captain Nelson and myself at Ipoto in exactly the 
time which he had calculated — and was commencing to 
point out that he was now just due at Fort Bodo, I was 
interrupted by the report of shots fired at some little distance 
— the signal of Stanley's arrival with the rear column ! ! ! AVe 
were emancipated from our wretched bondage ! Our first 



1888.] ARRIVAL OF REAR COLUMN AT FORT BODO. 335 

•duty on the occurrence of any alarm was to stand by the Fort 
with our rifles ready ; so I ran back hastily to the Fort, and 
there found Muftah awaiting me, with my Winchester and 
■cartridge-bag — he also informed me that it was " Bwana 
Couba " {i.e. the big master) who was coming. Stairs had 
mounted the sentry-box overlooking the Manyuema Avenue, 
and shouted that Stanley was coming. Nelson came out to 
the entrance of the Fort, and all the men began to jump 
about in a state of ecstacy. I ran down to meet him ; and 
grasped his hand — just on the bridge which we had con- 
structed over a small river near the Fort. He had about a 
•dozen scouts marching in front : one of these carried the 
Egyptian flag ; the others cut down any obstruction which 
happened to lie in their path. Mr. Stanley looked careworn 
and ragged to an extreme degree — and I never felt so forcibly 
as now, how much this man was sacrificing in the carrying out 
•of a terribly heavy duty which he had imposed upon himself. 
He might very well have been living in luxury within the 
pale of the most advanced civilisation, housed in some of its 
most sumptuous mansions, and clothed with its choicest raiment, 
-and — here he was. I had never before so fully believed in 
Stanley's unflinching earnestness of purpose, and unswerving- 
sense of duty. 

I asked him how Jameson, Barttelot and Bonny were — I 
had never met Mr. Troup, and had seen Mr. Ward but once 
•(the two remaining Europeans, Mr. Walker and Mr. Ingram, 
had finished their contract with the Expedition long ago). 
He replied that Mr. Bonny was the only white man who had 
returned with him, all the others were gone : Barttelot was 
shot on the 18th of June, at Banalya, by a chief, for inter- 
fering with his wife who was singing at 5 a.m. ; Troup had 
come up in the steamer after we had left — got sick, and 
went home again ; Ward had also arrived after we had left, 
but was sent down the river, and not permitted to return; 
Jameson had gone to Stanley Falls for carriers, and perhaps on 
to Bangala if necessary ; and — of the two hundred and sixty 
odd Zauzibaris, who had been left to bring on the loads of 
the rear column, considerably less than a hundred had sur- 
vived to tell the melancholy tale. Mr. Stanley had with him 
— 2 Europeans, Mr. Bonny, and William ; 161 Zanzibaris (men 
.and boys); 13 Nubians; 1 Somali, 25 Mahdis ; and some 



336 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

Manyuema — including women, who always accompany their 
masters. 

Dec. 21. — All the londs were brought into the Fort 
yesterday, but some of the sick did not arrive till to-day. 
Every one looked worn, thin, and exhausted. The men were 
really in a miserable state from debility and hunger, I never 
saw so repulsive a sight as that furnished by the unfortunate 
creatures ; eaten up as they are with enormous ulcers, xis they 
came dropping in, the stench — emitted by the putrid flesh and 
the dirty scraps of bandages — was sickening, and actually filled 
the air all around the Fort, as well as within it. The great 
majority of the ulcers were on the lower extremities — great,, 
gangrenous, rapidly-sloughing surfaces most of them — many 
were up to a foot in length, and about half as wide, with the 
bone exposed along the whole length. Many had hopelessly 
destroyed the feet : in some cases the tarsus, metatarsus and 
phalanges had all dropped out by degrees, and great strings of 
putrid flesh were left hanging out from the stump. This day 
I removed as much dead bone as could conveniently be packed 
on two soup plates. 

Mr. Stanley had had plenty of food for himself and the men,, 
till he reached near the Ituri river ; but from this time they 
had gone through a terrible period of starvation ; as bad as at 
any period of the Expedition. Many of the men perished of 
want. The poor creatures were now supplied with plenty of" 
good Indian corn ; and they washed and rested their weary and 
worn limbs in camp. 

Bonny was sent back about fifteen miles — towards the Ihuru 
river — with a party of those men who had been staying with 
us at the Fort ; to bring on some loads which Mr. Stanley 
had buried on the way, as he had been unable to carry 
them. 

Dec. 22. — Rations w r ere distributed to-day ; each man getting 
sixty heads of corn. The whole caravan, as now collected at 
the Fort, including the party which had stayed with us, numbers 
as follows: — Zanzibaris, 205 ; Nubians, 15; Somalis, 1; also 
about 300 Manyuema. 

We all now packed up our belongings — preparing to start 
for the Albert Nyanza. I packed up the medicines in two- 
loads. 

Bonny returned with the boxes. 



1888.] ARRIVAL OF REAR COLUMN AT FORT BODO. 337 

In the evening we three whites (of the Fort) sat on the 
harazan (seat for palaver, after Arab fashion) and discussed 
the facts of the Expedition. We had been horrified by the 
story of the wreck of the " Kear Column," which we had left 
in June of last year, well secured in a stockaded fort at 
Yambuya. Out of the five Europeans concerned, but one now 
remained to tell the ghastly tale : two had been sent down 
river, one had been shot, and the remaining one had gone 
down the Congo to Bangala. About one-third only of the 
Zanzibaris survived ; an enormous amount of baggage and am- 
munition had been lost or abandoned ; and the Europeans 
appeared to have been completely at loggerheads with one 
another, and on extremely bad terms with their men. 

Dec. 23. — Mr. Stanley, Stairs, and myself left the Fort 
on our way to the Albert Nyanza. Nelson and Bonny re- 
mained behind for some hours with thirty men, to burn the 
Fort, bury a large glass bottle or demijohn (about three feet 
in height) at the eastern extremity of the enclosure, and then 
bring on some loads. The " demijohn " was buried about a 
couple of feet under ground, and contains a letter written by 
Nelson, and a few small things of European manufacture ; 
which may teach the African antiquarian of a thousand years 
hence that a crude form of civilization, known as the " English," 
had penetrated into the heart of Africa, in the year of grace 
1888. 

We marched ten miles, and camped. The ground around 
Fort Bodo has all been left bearing the evidences of our 
farming industry, richly planted with corn, melons, brinjals, 
and peas. The latter we left looking extremely well. 

Dec. 24. — Mr. Stanley marched on to a camp five miles 
ahead, accompanied by Stairs. He sent back fifty men to 
Nelson at the Fort, to carry on the boxes which had been left 
there. I remain here with fifty-two loads, and when Mr. Stanley 
gets to his camp he is to send back men to me, and we will 
bring on these loads to his camp, where we expect to arrive 
at 4 p.m. 

Dec. 25. — A merry Christmas ! 

Mr. Stanley presented me with four yards of blue serge to 
make a pair of trousers — a timely gift, which was very much 
appreciated, as the want had long been felt. At an earlier 
date of the progress of the Expedition, we had been allowed 

z 



338 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

three carriers ; one of mine ran away with all my clothes. I 
had, however, a reserve supply, which was left at Yambuya 
in charge of the rear-column. 

Nelson and Bonny have now arrived with the boxes from 
Fort Bo do. Stairs was sent with a party of men, to try and 
procure some food in the shape of bananas. In the evening 
a letter arrived from him, saying that he would not return till 
to-morrow, as the men had scattered themselves all over the 
banana plantations, and he could not get them together ; also 
through the villages, after goats, fowls, &c, &c. : they had 
got out of hand, and had lost some of their discipline, owing 
to their horrible privations. 

We arranged our Christmas dinner of rice and beans, and a 
cup of coffee, which was given to us by Bonny. Sugar and a 
little brandy were also added, which we consumed with best 
wishes to our friends and relations at home. Our usual custom 
now is to dine separately ; it is much the best way for many 
reasons. In the first place, we can never all sit down at once, 
as duty always requires that one or more should be on the 
move, so that if we wait till every one is ready, the food must 
be cold ; and, as a rule, it consists simply of roast bananas. 
A second reason is furnished by the fact that, whenever we 
are fortunate enough to have a piece of goat, some like it 
underdone, and some overdone ; and this discrepancy of tastes 
has not unfrequently led us to call the mess president to 
account. 

We are kept in a fog of amazement in trying to investigate 
and to understand the why and the wherefore of the total 
wreck of the " Bear Column." Bonny tells us that Barttelot 
was off his head ; and, certainly, from the description he has 
given us of the detailed events at Yambuya. we are lost in 
astonishment for a satisfactory explanation. 

Dec. 26. — Yery heavy rain fell to-day. 

Each of us left one load of clothes at Yambuya, to be 
brought on with the rear column ; but I have been informed 
by Bonny that my box was broken open by accident on the 
march near Banalya, and a great portion of the contents 
thrown away. So that, unless I get some more cotton or 
other textile fabric from Emin Pasha, I shall be obliged to 
wear skins during the remainder of the time of my African 
pilgrimage ; latterly, we have all been seeing a great deal too 



1888.] ABBIVAL OF REAR COLUMN AT FORT BODO. 339 

much of each other. All ray note-books are lost, and the 
cartridges for my "twelve-bore hammerless" were given away 
to the officers of the steamer Stanley, so that my shot-gun 
is of no use to me now. The remains of my kit were dis- 
tributed amongst Stairs', Jephson's, and Nelson's loads after 
the disaster to my box. Half the things were nearly quite 
rotten from damp ; fortunately, my boots were preserved, and 
have turned up all right. Mr. Stanley also distributed a 
share of European provisions to each of us : milk-tins, 3 ; 
butter-tins, 4 ; brandy, 1 bottle ; biscuits, 1 tin (about a foot in 
length, breadth and depth each about six inches) ; beef-tea, 1 
small pot ; tea, 3J- tins, measuring each about six inches 
every way ; sugar, 180 lumps ; arrowroot, 1 tin, about same 
size as milk-tin; sago, 1 tin — open. These items are to be 
divided among Stanley, Bonny, Stairs, Nelson, Jephson, and 
myself. Amongst the extras left over and above these are : 
cocoa and milk, of which I received 1 tin ; also some of the salt 
given us by Emin, of which each share was J- lb. 

Mr. Stanley now allows five men to each of us white officers ; 
of my five, two carry my tent and poles (the tent is to accom- 
modate two persons) ; the other three carry my clothes, food, 
•cooking-pots, &c. Stairs has just now arrived with a goat and 
£ve chickens, so that we are going to have meat to-night, the 
iirst time for a period of 121 days — 17f weeks, the longest 
period I have spent without meat since I cut my eye-teeth. 
The men are now revelling in the wealth of bananas, which 
abound here. 

Mr. Stanley tells me that he lost ten of the Zanzibaris, 
whom he had brought back to Yambuya, from arrow-wounds. 
He also believes that many similar cases were saved by the 
use of hypodermic injections of ammonium carbonate, the 
properties of which I had many times tried for bites of 
reptiles, &c. 

We have handed over all the chickens and other meat to 
Nelson ; as he is the best cook, and is invariably asked to 
prepare the chosen bits, such as donkeys' tongues, &c, &c. 
No member of the Expedition can approach him in this 
department ! His rule is a quarter of an hour per pound — for 
either a " roast," a " boil," or a stew. 

I omitted to mention that Bonny brought me four letters — 
one from home ; another was a bill from the British Medical 

z 2 



340 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1888. 

Association for £1 7s. M. — it is hardly necessary to say that, 
as neither cheque-book nor post-office are available here, the 
payment of this bill must be deferred till I approach more 
nearly the centres of civilization ; and two others. — [I received 
no other communication from the British Medical Association 
till January, 1890, when I was graciously invited by the 
Council to attend the annual meeting at Birmingham, where, 
on the 31st of July following, I was granted the gold medal 
of the Association " For Distinguished Merit " in recognition 
of my medical services in connection with the Ertrin Pasha 
Belief Expedition. The honour thus conferred, and the 
cordial reception accorded me by the assembled members of 
the Association, will always form one of the most pleasing 
recollections connected with the results of my African trayeL] 
But all this European news is now very old indeed — June 
and July, 1887. 

Dec. 27. — Stairs and Nelson, accompanied by 100 of the 
strongest of our carriers, went on to the Ituri Kiver ; where 
they wil] leave the loads, with a small party to protect them. 
Mr. Stanley, with Bonny and myself, remain here until they 
return, which will be, we expect, after an interval of seven or 
eight days. We will then all march on with the loads to the 
Ituri. 

The men got plenty of bananas yesterday, and also on 
Tuesday last (25th). One of the Manyuema was badly 
wounded by an arrow. Mr. Stanley and myself have com- 
menced to modify our tents. He has reduced his to four 
loads. The ammunition is put into his tent for protection 
from the rain at night. I have cut mine down to one load, 
including poles and fly ; my ridge-pole is of bamboo cane, and 
the two uprights are thin forked poles, which I had cut in the 
forest. We have used many pieces of tent-cloth in patching 
our clothes, making bags for meal, &c. ; and also ravelled 
out some into thread for sewing. It has not been in the least 
damaged by all the dampness, exposure, and hard usage of 
the forest. The tent material was supplied by Edgington, 
of London, and is his own speciality. The canvas had been 
soaked in a solution of copper sulphate, and was thereby 
protected from rotting. I do not think that it could have 
undergone a severer test of its durability than that offered by 
its African existence. 



1889.] ARRIVAL OF REAR COLUMN AT FORT BODO. 341 

[I may add here that these tents remained thoroughly good 
and strong to the end of the Expedition. They had been 
used every day, both in the forest and on the plain. The 
•canvas was a lio-ht material of a srreen colour; and formed 
a restful object for the eye to turn to when wearied by the 
glare of the tropical sun.] - 

Dec. 28. — I continued the cutting and sewing of my tent ; 
Mr. Stanley is also hard at work remodelling his. The only 
great factor of delay in this procedure is that caused by the 
want of good needles. 

Dec. 29. — Bonny went off to-day, with a party of about forty 
men, to fetch bananas. Mr. Stanley has cut out a new coat 
for me : he is undoubtedly the better tailor, by far, of the two. 

In the evening, I became conscious of the existence of a 
very bad smell about my tent. I went sniffing about in the 
bush, in the rear of the tent ; and soon came upon two human 
bodies, in an advanced stage of decomposition. They were 
natives, who had fallen victims to the horrors of starvation. 

Dec. 30. — Bonny and party returned with a substantial 
supply of bananas. 

Dec. 31. — Bonny is rather reserved, although he tells us 
how many things that went wrong at Yambuya were done 
against his advice, and vice versa. He certainly shows that a 
great spleen existed amongst all the officers who were there, 
although he appears not to feel any such himself. Barttelot 
and Jameson, I think, were always friends. He is the only 
European remaining from the wreck ; and, certainly, he must 
have been placed in difficult positions, which he seems to have 
got out of with credit. 

Jan. 1, 1889. — Xew Year's Day ! A happy New Year to all 
at home ! For my part, I only add a sincere wish that I may 
never spend another in this blessed country. I am not at all 
tired of the Expedition ; but I do most thoroughly detest this 
going backwards and forwards in the forest, and the sitting 
down periodically to farm for some weeks or months at a 
time — just to get strong, and move on again. I would like 
to be always on the move, and doing something more active ; 
as it would be so much more healthy, and not so doleful and 
demoralising as the stagnant life which we have been leading. 

I went to hunt for food to-day, to a distance of about six 
miles, accompanied by a party of men and women. We were 



342 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

attacked by the natives, and had to fire about fifty shots before 
we succeeded in driving them away. 

The last year has been very eventful to all of us. Of the 
thirteen Europeans who started with the Expedition, six are 
now here present, one is with Emin Pasha, one has been 
murdered, four have returned down the Congo, and one never 
came up. Of the two Syrian interpreters, one is dead, and the 
other has been sent home. 

" Of those, and such like things for shift, 
We thick, instead of New Year's gift." 

Jan. 2. — We marched a few miles yesterday, and slept in a 
village last night. I ate four bananas for my New Year's 
dinner ; and got back to Mr. Stanley's camp, with food, at 
10.30 a.m. to-day. Shortly after my arrival, the camp was 
startled by a loud shriek in the forest close by ; a few men at 
once fell in with their Remingtons. My boy handed me my 
Winchester, and I immediately accompanied them to the spot 
from which the alarm proceeded — a movement which occupied 
but two minutes or so. I there found a Nubian wounded in 
six places by iron-headed arrows ; four of them were impacted 
in the bones of the vertebral column. As is usual with 
these men, he had foolishly gone a few yards into the forest 
away from the precincts of the camp, and neglected the 
precaution of bringing his rifle with him. 

After much trouble, I succeeded in removing four of the 
arrows : they had penetrated the bone deeply, and the iron 
heads had been so turned and twisted by the resistance offered 
by the latter, as to be hooked into its substance in such a way 
as to give them an extremely firm hold. So strongly were 
they fixed in the bone, that I almost lifted him off the ground 
when removing each arrow-head, a process which I effected 
with the aid of our strong forceps. These arrows are so made 
that the shaft comes away from the head on the least pull, and 
leaves the latter wherever it may be attached. Three of the 
arrows are barbed, and designed so ingeniously to catch in 
the flesh, that I was obliged to use the scalpel freely in their 
extraction. I also employed two grooved directors, which I 
slipped over the barbs, so as to prevent them catching in and 
tearing the flesh as they came away. Two of the arrow-heads 
still remain embedded in the man's body : they had penetrated 



1889.] ARRIVAL OF REAR COLUMN AT FORT BODO. 343 

too deeply to be removed by any justifiable operation. One 
was in the thorax, the other in the abdomen. [I afterwards 
removed them and the man recovered completely.] 

The natives are always lurking in the bush around our 
camps ; and a man going out imprudently without his rifle, for 
so necessary a purpose as that of collecting firewood, and 
having no comrade on the alert, is certain to be attacked by 
these wretches, who are continually on the look-out for a 
victim. 

Jan. 3. — Bonny went off to-day with a party, to search for 
bananas. Our Zanzibaris and Manyuema contingent, as usual, 
are very unsanitary in their habits, and will not be improved 
in this particular, say what we will to them ; the result is, 
that our camp is already getting into a very foul condition. 

About fifty-seven men returned to-day — from Stairs' camp — 
to help us on with the loads. They brought us two goats ; 
the first good specimens of this animal I have seen for a long 
interval. 

Jan. 4. — On Bonny's arrival we all left the camp ; and! 
marched on for about five miles. 

The wounded Nubian is able to walk, and is actually doing 
well. I forgot to mention that when I found him, imme- 
diately after being hit with the arrows, I gave him, with as 
little delay as possible, a hypodermic injection, consisting of a 
watery solution of 10 grains of ammonium carbonate, as it is 
a favourite treatment in cases of snake-bite, and Mr. Stanley 
and Bonny speak well of it as a remedy in cases of poisoned 
arrow-wounds. 

Jan. 5. — We marched about eleven miles to-day. Xibbo-bora, 
the second Manyuema chief, remained behind with his brother, 
who was very sick : there were three invalid Zanzibaris with 
him, and five loads are under his charge. They had moved 
out of camp ; but evaded the rear-guard by creeping into the 
bush, and returning to the camp. A sick Zanzibari takes no 
trouble about himself; in fact, lie does not want to recover. 
This seems strange, but it is no less true. This indifference 
to their own welfare is very annoying, and is very characteristic 
of the Zanzibaris. 

Jan. 6. — We marched about eight miles to-clay, and reached 
an old camp, where we found plenty of bananas. I was on rear- 
guard, so was late in getting into camp, as I had been delayed 



344 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

by the sick : one of whom I was obliged to have carried. The 
smell of the huge gangrenous ulcers is something dreadful : 
especially for those on rear-guard ; it actually lingers in the 
forest, long behind the march, so that one can track an ulcer 
here through the bush, as in a drag-hunt at home. I should 
not be surprised if the smell caused a plague to break out 
among us. I often wonder how the wretched beings can move 
along with masses of dead bone protruding from their huge 
sores : it is a mystery to me that numbers of them do not 
commit suicide, for they can always procure a rifle and a 
bullet from one of their comrades. 

Mr. Stanley held a shauri to-day : it was decided to send 
back Bonny to pick up the five loads which Kib bo-bora left 
behind, when he evaded us to stay with his dying brother. 

Jan. 7. — Among the Manyuema contingent are very many 
women, who carry loads as heavy as those of the men, and do 
it quite as well. Several of them are extremely handsome, 
especially Mrs. Kibbo-bora No. 1. They are of light-brown 
colour, with small hands and feet, pretty brown eyes, long eye- 
brows and eyelashes, thin nose and thin lips, small ears, short 
curly hair, and high forehead. They walk very upright ; the 
general contour of their figures is very fine, and their move- 
ments are graceful. They are of a very cheery and good- 
natured disposition, and are quite superior to the males of the 
tribe. Their dress is now reduced to a fringe or veil suspended 
from the waist : some of them use a handkerchief, which is 
worn around the head — twisted into a circular coil, and used 
to prevent the load from pressing directly on the vertex. A 
few have a handkerchief or two thrown over their shoulders, 
•others do not dress so extravagantly ; invariably a belt of some 
sort is worn — sometimes a vine or rope tied behind in a 
primitive bow — others are as nude and as well-proportioned as 
their white sisters who are artistically represented on the walls 
of the Eoyal Academy. 

Our carriers never allow a load to touch the head directly. 
They make a small circular pad (with a hole in the centre), 
prepared from bark-cloth or grass; this they judiciously place 
between the top of the head and the box. 

We marched early. As I was on rear-guard again, I was 
obliged to proceed very slowly, for the rear of the column has 
j ust enough life to move, but by no means sufficient energy to 






1889.] ABBIVAL OF BEAU COLUMN AT FORT BODO. 345 

push on. It was late in the day when I reached Mr. Stanley's 
luncheon place, so I camped there for the night. Bonny soon 
came up with Kibbo-bora and party ; they marched on to 
overtake Mr. Stanley. Kibbo-bora told me that he had left 
his brother on the road to die ; although he might have carried 
him. Such is African affection ! I sent out a few men, who 
brought in plenty of bananas ; some on the trees are now ripe. 

I feel quite sick, as the stench from the sick and ulcerated 
Zanzibaris is absolutely pestilential. They have to be driven 
in the evening to wash ; and at night we are all obliged to 
sleep in a narrow enclosure, surrounded by a boma for pro- 
tection against the natives and wild beasts. The result is 
that we are all thoroughly saturated with the emanations 
from the sloughing sores. 

Jan. 8. — I marched early, and, at luncheon-time, reached 
Mr. Stanley's camp at Mande. I found that, on halting for 
the day, he had sent on twenty men with loads to Stairs and 
Nelson, getting back twenty empty-handed men in return : 
these he sent back next clay to pick up our helpless invalids 
who had been left on the road. 

He told me that when the men had remained away eight 
days collecting food, during his stay at that awful Starvation 
Camp near the Ituri (before reaching Fort Bodo on his return 
from Yambuya) — he followed them, bringing his revolver and 
a full dose of poison, to destroy himself with, in case he could 
not find them. He had never been in such a state of despair 
on any African expedition. 

Jan. 9. — We marched early to-day, and reached Stairs' 
camp, which was situated close to the Ituri, at the bottom of 
Mande, from which we first saw the long wished for plain. 
One peak of this hill has been baptised " Mount Pisgah " by Mr. 
Stanley, because it was from it that he got the first glimpse of the 
" promised land." We crossed the river in canoes, which had 
been seized by Stairs ; and camped in an open spot, situated at 
the top of a hill, and about half a mile from the river. There 
is no water nearer than the river, which is the only drawback 
to our otherwise desirable position. Most of the sick are to 
be left here. The place is called " Kandekore." 



346 EXPEBIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

OUR SICK CAMP AT KANDEKOEE. 

We form a " Convalescent Home " for the sick at Kandekore on the borders 
of the plain — Mr. Stanley lectures Stairs and myself about the men's 
condition — Commencement of the third march to Lake Albert — The 
surroundings of our hospital — We build new huts — The Zanzibaris 
recognize the value of proper medical treatment — The invalids come to me 
for their medicine — Failure of Uledi to find the sick who had been left 
on the road — Completion of our huts — Effect of recurring nocturnal chilis 
— We kill some goats for the invalids' benefit — Satisfactory progress of 
the sick — Native forms of treating ulcers employed by our Zanzibaris — 
A primitive form of massage used for aching limbs — Scarification em- 
ployed for headache and synovitis — Demoralising effect of sickness on 
the men — An attack of bilious remittent fever prevents my attention to 
professional duties — Spread of disease caused by flies — Death of 
Mohammed Dean from rapid gangrene of the foot — Another instance of 
Zanzibari " truthfulness " — I recover from my fever attack — The last of 
my chloroform — Theft of goats by a Zanzibari boy — Some cases of 
gastro-intestinal catarrh, the result of prolonged exposure to all weathers 
— My African experience of this latter complaint, also of cholera in the 
Egyptian Soudan — Burroughs & Wellcome's tabloids, a convenient 
medicine— The tabloid system should be adopted on service abroad and 
at home by the Army Medical Staff — A death from dysentery — Mortality 
at our camp since Mr. Stanley's departure. 

Jan. 10. — All the men were fallen in to-day and inspected. 
Hen who were declared " unfit " are to be left here, so that 
this is to form a sort of " Convalescent Home." Most of them 
are incapacitated by ulcers. Eighty-seven Zanzibaris, nine 
Soudanese, twenty Manyuema, and twenty Makdi men have 
been told off to remain ; besides Stairs, myself, and Nelson, 
(who has a bad ulcer, and is unable to march, although he is 
anxious to go on). I told Mr. Stanley that he would break 
down if allowed to proceed, and he has acted on my suggestion. 
I am always left at the standing camps to look after the sick ; 
although I am thoroughly " fit," and have never been carried 
since the start. 

Mr. Stanley called Stairs and myself into his tent last 
night, and gave us a long lecture — he frequently lectures us 
— telling us of the great importance of looking well after 



1889.] OUR SICK CAMP AT KANDEKOBK 347 

the men, and getting them into health and good condition. 
During the discourse he told us that "the path of duty is 
the way to glory," and that " there is a tide in the affairs of 
men which taken at the flood leads on to fortune." He also 
mentioned that there was an officer with him on the Expedi- 
tion who had this opportunity, &c, &c, &c. We did not know 
to whom he referred, but drew our own conclusions. He went 
on to say that we are not going to bring Emin Pasha away ; 
our object will be to give him ammunition as relief; that as 
we have so few men left we can barely drive through to Zan- 
zibar by ourselves, without taking up the additional trouble 
and responsibility of looking after Emin and his people. We 
have but 219 Zanzibaris living now, and a very large proportion 
of this number are utterly " unfit." 

Jan. 11. — Mr. Stanley is again off for the Albert Nyanza 
to-day, accompanied by Bonny, and the more vigorous of the 
Zanzibaris, Nubians, and Manyuema. This is the third time 
our leader has gone to the lake for Emin Pasha. It is six 
good marches off; but he will take a longer time than this, as 
he goes slowly, and will make enquiries at Mazamboni's, and 
at Kavalli's, about Emin and Jephson. He will travel very 
cautiously : he has twenty-one men, and eleven chiefs, employed 
as scouts ; and who, accordingly, do not carry loads. We 
do not know what to think of the Pasha and Jephson ; the 
former must have completely lost control over his men, other- 
wise he would have met us with his steamers at the south end 
of the Lake, when Mr. Stanley got there in December, 1887 — 
arriving one day before his appointed time. His first battalion 
has been in a state of mutiny for years, and the men have made 
many attempts to make him a prisoner. When we were at the 
Lake (April and May last) we saw quite enough to indicate 
how things stood, in the way in which he implored his officers, 
to convince us of his want of control. 

Our camp here is really a large hospital ; Stairs is in com- 
mand of the Camp. Almost every man here is under treat- 
ment ; some of the worst cases have to be fed as they lie on 
their backs, for they are too weak to sit up. They are reduced 
to integument and bone, by prolonged starvation — a very 
sickening sight ! I have observed among these cases of pro- 
gressive inanition, that so long as the gluteal region retains 
its rotundity there is no danger ; but it is remarkable — indeed, 



348 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

absolutely diagnostic — that, as soon as it begins to flatten, the 
individual at once breaks down. 

This is the site of an old village ; we found an enormous 
quantity of tobacco — prepared, and ready to be smoked. We 
must fortify the place, as we are sure to be obliged to remain 
for at least a month. There are plenty of bananas about ; and, 
perhaps, an occasional goat or chicken. I feel it is very rough 
being obliged to remain here, just in sight of the plain, and 
tied up to so large a number of helpless individuals, who are 
entirely unable to go about. Nelson, poor chap, is unable to 
march at present. 

Stairs has the men collecting wood, &c, for the construction 
of their huts. We are at present living in tents, but will get 
into huts later on, when the men have all been made com- 
fortable. The men's huts are to be arranged so as to surround 
a square. Each has a boarded back, of about five feet in 
height, placed as a protection against arrows in case of an 
attack by the natives. The roof slopes to the front so that the 
door is very low. 

It is curious to observe how the Zanzibaris have been 
educated by experience to recognise the value of proper 
medical treatment. When we started on this expedition, the 
men all used their own medicinal remedies, which they 
prepared from leaves, &c. ; but now not one of them thinks 
of using such preparations, although they stuck to them 
tenaciously enough for a year or so. Everyone — who is able 
to walk — comes regularly, morning and evening, at the ap- 
pointed hour, to receive professional attention. My chief — 
a fine, tall, dark Zanzibari named Hari — comes out of his 
hut, morning and evening, at the stated time, pulls up his 
scanty shirt, and, while scratching his abdomen, calls out, 
" Boxvr, doivr, dowr": this brings up all invalids for their 
medicine, cvc. As a little colouring matter goes a very long 
way in improving the appearance of a solution, I often 
employ mixtures of red, green, black, or other colour, for 
their medicines. I have found that a watery solution of 
potassium permanganate, which gives a beautiful purple, has 
held its own as the greatest popular favourite. This is 
peculiarly fortunate, as it is one of the best antiseptic and 
deodorising preparations I have. 

It is somewhat comical to watch the men as they come out 



1889.] OUR SICK CAMP AT KANDEKORE. 349 

of their huts in the early morning ; everyone, without except- 
ion, is employed in scratching his body. If counter-irri- 
tation applied to the cutaneous surface were an efficient 
remedy against internal disease, the members of the E. P. K. 
Expedition should be among the healthiest men alive. 

Jan. 12. — We had a goat killed for the sick, last night, and 
gave it all to the poor creatures, although the officers want a 
taste of meat very badly indeed. We had soup prepared, and 
gave all the worst cases soup and meat last night, and 
repeated the same twice to-day. Some of these men are sure 
to die very soon. 

Uledi, who was sent back with a party of men to bring up 
the sick who had been left on the road, returned on Thursday 
(10th inst.), saying that he had failed to find any. I believe 
that he never went further than the last camp. However 
if his story is true, the four Zanzibaris and eight Manyuema 
must have been killed by the natives. This is, however, quite 
probable too, as I saw some wild natives hanging about our 
line of march, and evidently very willing to attack us if they 
saw a fair opportunity. 

Jan. 13. — Mr. Stanley is to arrive at Mazamboni's to-day. 
when he will probably hear the first authentic news of Emin 
Pasha's movements. Our convalescent camp here is by degrees 
getting more into ship-shape. All the men's huts have been 
finished ; the boma is also completed, and, on to-morrow, the 
officers' houses will be commenced. The construction, of 
course, has been rather hasty ; a house, in which some of the 
invalids were sleeping, voluntarily descended to the ground 
this morning ; and if Stairs had not been so meritoriously 
prompt in removing the three disabled men who were inside,, 
they would all have been smothered in the debris. 

We sent a party for Indian corn to-day, so that we may 
provide meal for the sick. I suspected that my heart had by 
this time become as hard as a stone : yet I displayed some 
symptoms of softness to-clay, for I distributed part of my 
small stock of European provisions (butter, milk, salt and 
rice) to my poor emaciated patients. 

It is very hot here in the middle of the day, but the nights 
are sometimes extremely cold. These recurring nocturnal 
chills are always supplying me with a number of cases of 
gastro-intestinal catarrh, which, after the ulcers, have proved 



350 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

the most formidable pathological product of the E. P. K. 
Expedition. 

Jan. 14. — We had another small goat killed to-day, and 
gave it to the sick. Both Stairs and Nelson, as well as 
myself, fully recognise the importance of keeping these poor 
men alive, and getting them into working condition, as we 
have barely enough men on the Expedition now to drive 
through to Zanzibar. We can never face that forest again ! 
By mixing a few cups of Indian meal with the water in which 
the goat was stewed, it helps to make the sick man's meal 
more substantial still. Four of the largest goats would not 
supply the sick with more than one good meal each. 

Stairs is very busy with our enclosure, and has almost 
completed two watch-towers. Nelson is still on his back — - 
— his feet are swollen with oeclematous infiltration. The ulcers 
of the Zanzibaris are doing fairly well, in spite of the incor- 
rigibly filthy habits of these men. They are, of course, very 
feeble ; and unable to get often to the river, for the frequent 
washings which they so much require : the Manyuema are 
much dirtier still than the Zanzibaris. The intense and 
sickening stench which radiated from each of these large foul 
ulcers is diminishing a good deal — with the frequent use of 
carbolic acid, permanganate of potassium, and nitrate of silver, 
also the general cleanliness which our state of rest here allows 
me to enforce. I have applied pure carbolic acid to each of 
the gangrenous surfaces with very good effect. 

Among the native forms of treatment which the Zanzibaris 
employ for their ulcers, is one of rubbing a copper ring on a 
stone till a layer of metallic dust has been filed off ; this is in 
turn rubbed off the stone by the application of a wet rag, by 
means of which it is then applied to the surface of the ulcer. It 
certainly does some good ; it acts as a mild caustic, and brings 
down the unhealthy granulations ; but the worst of their 
application of this remedy is that they don't know when to 
stop ; but go on rubbing and burning the surface, till a deep 
depression is formed. Their favourite application to small 
ulcers, however, is a paste which they make of certain leaves : 
when crushed and thoroughly mashed up, they plaster the 
pulp on the raw surface, and allow it to dry. It sticks pretty 
firmly, and forms a protective shield; which prevents the 
sore from being hurt from without — by the striking of twigs 



1889.] OUJl SICK CAMP AT KANDEKOEE. 351 

and grasses, and other such things with which they come in 
contact. It becomes really very hard, and gives a good deal 
of mechanical protection ; but does harm in the end — by con- 
fining the products of ulceration, and preventing its escape. 
When they complain of rheumatic pains, as they pretty often 
do, they lie down flat on the ground, and get their comrades 
to tramp on their bodies, bruising it in all directions with their 
feet. When their limbs ache, they use a primitive form of 
massage by kneading and pressure ; but as they do not know the 
position of the various anatomical structures, there is usually 
a good deal of mechanical energy wasted without much benefit. 
Whenever they suffer from headache or any local inflammatory 
action in any part of the body {e.g., synovitis) they cup each 
other for it, using a primitive form of the scarification which 
is sometimes employed for local depletion on our European 
continent. They use, for this purpose, a small horn ; with a 
narrow opening at the tapering end. Around the latter they 
arrange an indiarubber material which they collect from one 
of the forest creepers. They place the large (open) end of the 
horn on the painful spot, exhaust the air by suction through the 
narrow opening in the other end, and then close the latter — by 
biting the indiarubber with their teeth. After this " dry cup " 
has been left on for a minute or two, so as to cause marked 
cutaneous congestion, it is removed, and a number of small 
incisions (half a dozen or so) are made through the skin. The 
horn is then again applied, suction is used, and it is soon filled 
with blood. This " wet cup " may be used again, so that they 
deplete as fully as they wish. 

Jan. 15. — Stairs has nearly finished the watch-towers. 
There is a marked improvement in the progress of most of the 
men ; but they are even greater liars than before they became 
reduced to this broken-down state. Sickness has a very de- 
moralising effect upon them ; they put forward their illness as 
a sufficient excuse for everything that they do wrong, and for 
all their vile habits ; they become quite helpless, as they will 
do nothing for themselves, even when not quite disabled by 
weakness ; and are continually whining for sympathy and 
attention. When a Zanzibari has been sick for a long time 
he invariably develops, exactly like his white brother in 
Europe, into a goee-goee, which means a good-for-nothing 
grumbler. 



352 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

Jan. 16. — I hare been feeling seedy all day, and fear that 
fever is coming on. I have also been feeling very chatty, 
which is an invariable premonitory symptom of fever. Three 
of our watch-towers are now finished. 

Jan. 17. — A small goat was killed to-day. Half of its meat 
will be given to our sick blacks in the form of soup ; the other 
half goes to us four whites. 

I never spent such a time as last night. I had a burning 
fever, and did not sleep half an hour ; the pain in my lumbar 
region (small of the back) was most excruciating, as it always 
is during these attacks of fever. 

About thirty-five men were supplied with meat and soup 
to-day. The inner square of the fort was cleared, and the 
refuse thrown out. The enormous number of ulcers, attract 
great swarms of flies, which undoubtedly carry the necrobiotic 
poison about with them, and convey it to the previously 
unaffected. These detestable winged messengers of evil have 
a most objectionable fencliant for alighting on one's face, after 
returning from the surface of a gangrenous sore; and also 
of trying to get themselves swallowed with every alternate 
morsel of our food. We have very few bandages for use, so 
that we employ such material as bits of old flannel, of shirts, 
remnants of cloth of all kinds, bits of rag, pieces of bark- 
cloth, &c, &c. 

Jan. 18. — I saw some of the sick this morning, but was 
too ill to complete my task ; so the rest were treated by 
Nelson and Stairs, who are now specialists in the treatment of 
African ulcers. I was obliged to go immediately and lie down 
in my tent ; which is a very small one, and situated directly 
under the scorching sun. I felt wretched, aching all over, 
and in a very bad temper ; I was like a hen on a hot gridiron. 
It appeared to be a tie in the competition to burn me out — 
between the roasting sun without, and my own consuming 
fever within. 

Nelson saw the sick for me in the evening, as I was entirely 
unfit to come out of my den. 

Jan. 19. — The men got "rousa" (a holiday) to-day, as 
they have all had to work pretty hard since they came here, 
in the making of their huts, &c. I changed to a hut that was. 
just finished, as it was somewhat cooler, and much more roomy 
than my tent. These huts are really beautiful to lie in. 



1888.] OUR SICK CAMP AT EANDEKOBE. 353 

They are constructed of beautifully green boughs, and creepers, 
and leaves, which hang about in careless profusion. The bed 
has been formed of leaves, grasses, and tops of bushes, and 
surpasses any spring-bed in luxury. My feverish symptoms 
are now much aggravated ; my body feels as if broken across, 
and every limb aches. The most intense pain is concentrated 
in the lower part of my back ; my temperature is 104° F. 
Nothing gives relief except morphine. Small dark ecchymotic 
patches (petechias) have appeared on the skin of the trunk ; 
there is great tenderness over the stomach and liver. Black 
clotted blood comes from the nose and other passages ; the 
tongue is thickly coated with a dark brown fur. After seeing 
the sick in the morning, I went to bed, feeling that the man 
who would kill me quickest was my best friend. 

Mohammed Dean, a Nubian, died to-day. He had suffered 
from rapid gangrene of the foot. Bones, ligaments, muscles, 
blood-vessels and all were rapidly destroyed — to a level a little 
above the ankle. It would have been useless — even mischievous 
— to operate ; the sloughing process would have extended to 
the stump. This has occurred in similar cases in which I was 
induced to amputate. Fortunately, the unhappy victims of 
these rapidly destructive ulcers do not suffer much pain from 
them. The only variety which I have seen give much trouble 
in that way are those which form over the malleoli (prominence 
of either ankle). In this position they grow more slowly, they 
are more regular in outline, and cause a good deal of pain ; 
■especially as they are greatly exposed in this position to 
being rubbed by twigs, grass, leaves, &c, while the poor 
patient is on the march. 

A " ruga-ruga " party was sent off to-day for food. Nelson 
-saw the sick for me both last night and this morning. I take 
.something like 100 grains of quinine in the morning ; my 
temperature then keeps below 102° F. in the afternoon. At 
3 p.m. I had an attack of excruciating paiu over the hypo- 
gastric region. I have hot stupes applied from time to time 
by means of an old flannel shirt, lent me by Stairs, or by 
Nelson. I also get hypodermic injections of morphia, which 
send me off to sleep. 

Two of the sick who had remained on the road arrived here 
to-day. This goes to prove that Ulecli and party had never 
returned all the way for them, although he had been sent by 

2 A 



354 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

Mr. Stanley with orders to do so, and had told us on coming 
back that he had gone the whole way. (Another characteristic 
instance of Zanzibari truthfulness and affection !) These poor 
men, in crossing the Ituri river, got into a canoe which drifted 
them down the stream for half a mile towards a cataract, so 
that they had an extremely narrow escape with their lives, 
as they were too weak to paddle, and, of course, too weak to 
swim. 

Jan. 21. — The " ruga-ruga " party returned to-day — with 
some dried meat, two goats, three chickens, and plenty of good 
plantains. I am somewhat better to-day. I took 100 grains 
of quinine this morning, and drank a bottle of Warburg's 
tincture last night, so that I gave myself a very fair chance 
of having any malarial poison floating in my tissues and cir- 
culation thoroughly neutralised, if within the power of specific 
medicines to effect this desirable result. I have obtained a 
partial effect, as my temperature now goes down to 100° F. 
in the morning. My illness undoubtedly is " bilious remittent 
fever." 

All the sick in camp are improving — doing really well now, 
as they have the great advantages of rest and fairly good diet. 
The last of my chloroform was finished to-day. Much of it 
had evaporated, as the tin in which it was carried became rusty 
during our long sojourn in the damp forest, and the rust 
gradually ate its way through the metal; making minute 
perforations, through which the volatile liquid lost no time 
in escaping. I have still some cocaine left, by the use of 
which I will still be able to perform small operations without 
inflicting pain. 

Jan. 22. — I am better to-day, but my head whirls from the 
effect of the quinine when I stand ; I feel quite dizzy, and my 
ideas are all muddled up and confused : my back and limbs 
still ache. I can walk about 200 yards — with the help of a 
stick. My temperature this morning was 101° F. 

One of my sick (named Ali Bin Said) stole two goats 
to-day : a very big one, and a little one. He promptly killed 
them, and was caught in the act of skinning one. Of course, 
with characteristic Zanzibari veracity, he there and then 
vigorously denied having had any hand in the death of either. 
His denial was not, however, received in evidence, and he was 
at once treated to " one dozen " with a stout rod, as a remem- 



1889.] OUR SICK CAMP AT KANDEKORK 355 

brancer. This same boy Ali has been receiving soup and 
meat off every goat that was killed since we came here. 

Jan. 23. — One Mahdi died last night from sheer exhaustion, 
caused by the drain from his ulcers. Stairs has commenced 
the inner fort, which seems to me somewhat too big : but none 
of us question Stairs' undoubted engineering skill. Nelson 
has been doing my work since I got ill. The men are putting 
on flesh, as they are really getting plenty of good, substantial 
food now. Some, however, had been reduced so low, that 
months must elapse before they arrive at a condition in which 
their digestive and assimilative organs will be able to function 
properly; they are at present composed simply of skin, 
ligament, and bone. One boy (Muftah) died ; the only wonder 
is that he lived so long, as he had for a considerable time 
been reduced to a walking skeleton, I have a good many 
cases on hand still — the result of prolonged exposure to cold 
nights, rain, and all varieties of clamp in that wretched forest. 
Some of them approach the character of dysentery, but they 
are more truly of the nature of ' gastro-intestinal catarrh. Those 
cases which I had the opportunity of treating early with 
ipecacuanha, followed by lead and opium, did wonderfully well 
considering their wretched circumstances and diet. A good 
many cases were prolonged by the sleeping out at night, as 
they had not sufficient energy to build huts to shelter them- 
selves and sleep in while on the march. 

The prevalence of gastro-intestinal catarrh has, throughout, 
shared with the sloughing ulcers the distinction of being the 
most important physical obstacle to the prosperous progress of 
our Expedition. We have all suffered from it again and 
again : sometimes very acutely, sometimes less so. Its usual 
course is simply that of acute catarrh ; in most cases modified 
more or less by occurring in a constitution previously de- 
bilitated. Ushered in by febrile disturbance the essential 
symptoms are : increased number of alvine evacuations, with 
diminished consistence ; large quantities of mucous discharge ; 
borborygmi ; tormina ; a variable amount of abdominal ten- 
derness — with or without marked tenderness over the gastric 
and hepatic areas. 

In addition to the miasmatic influences which prevail over 
so large an area of tropical Africa, the great factor in the 
causation of this great plague has certainly been the rapid 



356 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

alternation of heats and chills. The symptoms have nearly 
always been those which must necessarily follow a rapid deter- 
mination of blood from the suddenly contracted cutaneous 
vessels towards the very expansible vessels of the alimentary 
tract — passing through acute hyperemia to a widespread 
stasis. The establishment of the latter condition prevented 
the discharge from the intestinal surface from being so copious 
as to lead to sudden collapse ; and, in this respect, it formed a 
striking contrast to the phenomena of the rapid and copious 
evacuations of cholera, followed by the appalling collapse 
which have been so vividly stamped on my recollection by my 
Egyptian experiences. This difference also accounts for the 
fact that our cases of gastro-intestinal catarrh were found fairly 
amenable to treatment, when the surrounding circumstances 
were such as to allow the latter a fair trial ; while the inefficacy 
of treatment in the progress of a rapid case of algide cholera 
makes the medical man feel more paralytically incapable than 
in dealing with any acute disease I have met. The terrible 
disregard shown by the symptoms of this disease to all varieties 
of treatment have been indelibly impressed on my memory by 
my experience during the epidemic of 1883, when the re- 
coveries of our cases at Helouan amounted to only 29 ■ 03 of 
the total number attacked, in spite of the untiring use of every 
remedy which had any reputation. One treatment which I 
was induced to adopt was the intra-venous injection of the 
following solution : — 

Sodium chloride ..... 6 grammes. 

„ carbonate ..... 1 „ 

Water 1000 „ (1 litre). 

This was injected — at a temperature of 101° F. — into the 
median basilic vein, immediately above the bend of the elbow; 
the patient, who had been lying in a state of extreme collapse 
before the operation, did certainly rally on receiving the 
injection, and recovered sufficiently to be able to articulate 
distinctly, but the improvement was a transitory one : collapse 
again supervened, and the fatal issue occurred in a few hours. 
Without attempting to discuss the efficacy of the presence 
of the u comma " bacillus in the production of cholera, I 
may mention the strong evidence of the predisposing influence 
of the previous state of health, as furnished by the following 
facts, and also the extreme mortality ainorjgst the attendants. 



1889.] OUR SICK CAMP AT EAXDEKOPE 357 

Of the number of persons who were attacked by cholera at the 
camp at Helouan : — 

2*63 per cent, of the previously healthy were attacked ; 
9*34: „ „ convalescents from some otlur lorra of disease; 
11 -76 „ „ Medical Staff Corps (previously healthy). 

Age also appeared to exert some predisposing influence : — 

Average age of persons attacked was . . 26*3 years. 

„ „ fatal cases . . . 20 • 7 „ 

„ „ recoveiies . . . . 25*2 „ 

While looking back on my experience of this terrible 
Egyptian epidemic, it is somewhat comforting to reflect that 
with all the horrors and hardships of our Expedition, I have 
been able to alleviate the sufferings of my gastro-intestinal 
cases more effectively than I could those of my cholera 
patients while within reach of an unlimited supply of medi- 
cines. 

Jan. 21. — I did my work last evening, and have now com- 
menced to see the sick as usual. My chief Hari calls out 
cloiur, doivr, doiur, morning and evening ; the sick then come 
crowding around me as I sit in my chair and dole out 
Burroughs and Welcome's tabloids, which are superior to any 
form of medicine that I have tried, not only for efficiency 
and constancy of strength — as I have repeatedly noticed — 
but also for extreme convenience of transport and rapid 
dispensing. 

I hope that the medical department of Her Majesty's 
services may see their way to adopt this form of medicine. I 
can say with confidence — from the experience of over ten years 
in the Medical Staff of the army, both at home and abroad, in 
peace and war, including this Expedition — that one man could 
carry a larger quantity and of more efficient medicine in the 
tabloid form than ten can manage in the present cumbersome 
system used by the services. If the tabloid system were only 
adopted on service abroad, see what a difference of transport 
and space there would be. These tabloids are soluble and the 
doses accurate : why still patronise the pill with its indefinable 
charm, which becomes concrete and insoluble — and, therefore, 
useless — when kept a long time, and the dignified antiquity of 
those fluids and powders, which are difficult to pack and to 
dispense ; but the most convincing ground of appeal to the 



358 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

authorities must be expenditure, for the estimates would be 
lessened — as one medical officer could do the work of two, 
and dispensers be themselves almost entirely dispensed with. 

A heavy shower of rain fell last night. Hassan Sadallah, a 
Zanzibari, died to-day. The fatal result was due to an acute 
attack of dysentery ; he had received a chill, and then surfeited 
himself with ripe bananas, having previously eaten some meat, 
which was, I believe, partially decomposed. 

Half a goat was given to the sick to-day, and carefully dis- 
tributed in the shape of soup and meat. 

Jan. 25. — A foraging party went out this morning. It is 
now a fortnight since Mr. Stanley left here for the Lake. 
Khamis Songoro, another victim of chronic starvation, died 
to-day. This is, I think, the last Zanzibari invalid who will 
die at this camp. Since Mr. Stanley's departure the mortality 
has included three Zanzibaris, two Manyuema, one Nubian, 
and one Mahdi; seven in all. 



( 359 ) 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE STORY OF THE EEAU COLUMN. 

Lieutenant Stairs tiies the Maxim machine-gun — Jamming of a Gardiner 
gun at the battle of Abu Klea — Usefulness of our Winchesters, com- 
pared to other rifles — Memoranda of the events which occurred at 
Yambuya as obtained by me from Mr. Bonny— The Major makes 
repeated journeys to Stanley Falls — Tippu Tib's promised supply of 
carriers — The remnant of the rear column found by Mr. Stanley at 
Banalya — Unnecessary delay of the rear column in following the steps 
of the advance column — The march to Banalya — Barttelot shot dead by 
a Manyuema — Jameson goes down the Congo to Bangala — Bonny left in 
sole command — My comment on the foregoing memoranda — A feverish 
locality — The most powerful enemy in Africa — A foraging party dis- 
obeys orders — I exchange a pair of shoes for a coat — Filthy condition of 
our Manyuema — Ants are good scavengers, but otherwise a terrible 
annoyance — Numerical strength of the Expedition : the rear column 
almost exterminated — Our total loss of men — Native trick of catching 
small fish — Progress of our sick — A native dwarf scared by a leopard 
— Foraging expeditions for goats and fowls — Arrival of Chief Rashid and 
men to escort us to the Lake — Mr. Stanley receives letters from Jephson 
and Emin Pasha — Their imprisonment at Duffle — Rebellion in the 
Equatorial Province — Dance by Chief Katto and his men — We quit our 
camp at Kandekore and arrive at a village on the plains — Reception at 
Mazamboni's — Description of the village and its surroundings — Kabba- 
Rega's raids on the Wazamboni — Familiarity of the people — The cattle 
of the plains — We camp at Mpinga's village. 

Jan. 26. — Kelson had a severe attack of fever this evening. 
Stairs tried the Maxim gun, it did not work satisfactorily — 
like all machine-guns, which are good in theory, but do not 
yet appear to have been brought up to a fair standard of 
reliability in practice. At the battle of Abu Klea, I was 
medical officer in charge of the naval brigade under Lord 
Charles Beresford ; on that occasion owing to the jamming of 
the Gardiner gun — at the exact moment when it was most 
required — just as the Arabs rushed on the dismounted square, 
two officers were killed, and the other two, of the four naval 
officers present, were wounded. One defect in the machinery 
of the Maxim gun is that the canvas-belt contracts when wet, 
and it becomes very difficult to introduce the cartridges, 



360 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [188& 

Another objectionable feature is that the tin, which contains- 
the water for keeping the barrel cool, is detachable, so that it 
may be lost. It should be permanently fixed ; for if lost by 
theft, or accident, the barrel when in use would soon get so- 
hot from rapid firing that the gun would become useless. With 
the exception of these drawbacks, it seems to be much the 
best of the machine-guns, as it is certainly the lightest, and 
can be carried by four men without difficulty, even during 
forced marching. Our other weapons were Kemingtons, Win- 
chesters, and revolvers. The Remington seems to me superior 
to the Martini-Henry rifle, at least for our purposes, for it 
never gets out of order unless some of the machinery is lost, 
and it is very easily cleaned. In the Relief Expedition for 
Gordon the cartridges constantly jammed in the latter rifle- 
— a great source of danger. Our Winchesters carry fifteen 
rounds, and are invaluable up to 300 yards ; they are especially 
useful at short distances in the forest. 

When talking to the men of Hassan Sadallah's company 
concerning his death, they denied his having eaten any de- 
composed meat ; still, on making the usual Saturday's sanitary 
inspection of the huts to-clay, 1 found portions of half-dried, 
half-decomposed meat in several of their huts. 

I jotted down to-day the memoranda of the events which 
had occurred at Yambuya, as I obtained them from Bonny. 
They are as follows : — 

Ward and Bonny, who had been left at Bolobo, with 125 
men, in Jane, 1887, arrived in the steamship Stanley at 
Yambuya, on the 14th of August of the same year. But three 
of the 125 men had died, and two were sick at this time. 
Troup, who arrived by the same steamer, brought with him a 
few stragglers who had been left behind (sick) on the march 
to Stanley Pool. This contingent made Bonny's party up to 
131 men. 

On the 15th of August (1887) firing was heard on the river,, 
above Yambuya ; this was the announcement of the approach 
of a party of Tippu-Tib's ivory-hunters — numbering about 
160. Some of the Zanzibaris left the fort, went up the river, 
and conducted this party to Yambuya. Some of these hunters 
accompanied Jameson to Stanley Falls, whither he proceeded 
in order to have an interview with Tippu-Tib about the carriers 
who were required. The latter promised 600 carriers, who would 



1889.] THE STORY OF THE REAR COLUMN. 361 

be ready in ten days after Jameson's arrival at Stanley Falls. 
Jameson returned to Yambuya and assured them there that 
the carriers would be ready, according to Tippn-Tib's promise. 
No carriers, however, arrived at the appointed time ; and the 
Arabs, who were staying at Yambuya, said that Tippu-Tib had 
gone to settle a dispute at the Lumami Kiver, and would 
return with the carriers in a week or two. Time passed 
fruitlessly away ; the end of September came, but still no 
carriers : so Bartielot started with Troup for Stanley Falls, 
where they remained till the end of October. Tippu-Tib by 
this time had admitted that he could not get the carriers 
unless he went in person to Kasongo to fetch them — going- 
there and returning with the carriers would occupy a period 
of forty-three days. Tippu-Tib did leave for Kasongo at last 
(about the 1st of November). Month after month then passed 
without any news of Tippu-Tib or the carriers, while numerous 
vague excuses were being given for their absence. Accord- 
ingly Barttelot and Jameson again went to Stanley Falls 
(16th Feb., 1888), and there it was decided that Jameson 
should start after Tippu-Tib to Kasongo, which was situated 
several hundred miles up the Congo. Jameson then started 
at once, accompanied by Assad Farran (interpreter), his gun- 
bearer, and some Manyuema guides. He returned to Yambuya 
on the 5th or 6th of June following, with Tippu-Tib and 430 
carriers. In the meantime, Barttelot had again gone from 
Yambuya to Stanley Falls (on the 25th of March). On the 
28th of March, Ward, after eight months at Yambuya, had 
been sent with despatches for the Emin Pasha Belief Com- 
mittee to the coast (St. Paul de Loanda, where the cable ter- 
minates) about 20U0 miles away. So that up to this date, 
which was about twelve months from that of our landing at 
Yambuya, Barttelot had travelled, to and fro, about 800 miles. 
Jameson had done the same journey twice, and also had gone 
to Kasongo and back (1200 miles in all) ; Troup has once been 
to Stanley Falls and back (400 miles) ; Ward has been clown, 
or is on his way down, to the coast, and is to return — a trip of 
2000 miles to send a telegram, and the same distance back : if 
all this work expended in fruitless flitting about had been 
utilised by advancing even a mile a-dayon our track, it would 
at least have given some healthy exercise to the men, and 
would be assisting the Expedition. A letter was subsequently 



362 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

sent by Barttelot to the chief of the Bangala station, advising 
him to stop Ward, coming up with his despatches at that 
station — for some unaccountable reason. 

On the 11th of June, 1888, when the Advance Column, after 
bringing relief to Emin was at Fort Bodo on its way back to 
find the Kear Column, Barttelot, Jameson, and Bonny left 
Yambuya with 436 loads — which were now reduced to half 
their original weight — to follow up Stanley's track. This 
caravan consisted of — 

Men. Boys. 

Zanzibaris 108 8 

Nubians .22 

Somalis ....... 1 

making a total of 139 — the remnant of the original 271 who 
had been left at Yambuya. So that in somewhat less than a 
year 132, or nearly half of the total number left, had either 
died or deserted. Added to this number were now 430 Man- 
yuema, making a total of 569 (approximately). When leaving 
Yambuya, thirty-three of the Zanzibaris, who were unable to 
march from sickness and debility, were left behind with Tippu- 
Tib's people; and those loads which were considered least 
necessary were sent down the river to Bangala. Several 
loads (of cloth, &c.) were given to Tippu-Tib, as part pay- 
ment for the service of the carriers. Goods of the value of 
£120 sterling were given to Muini Soumai, one of Tij^pu-Tib's 
chiefs, who accompanied the caravan in charge of the Man- 
yuema; this was in part payment of the £1000 which it was 
arranged that he should receive. These 436 half-loads should 
have been carried by 218 men, according to our original 
arrangements in marching ; by doing this, the carriers would 
only be carrying the same weight as those of the Advance 
Column. So that it can be seen that the men of the Kear 
Column had comparatively light work now, as they were 
provided with such an abundance of carriers. If the white 
men had left Yambuya when the garrison became augmented 
by the 125 men (and two Europeans and boys) on the arrival 
of the S.S. Stanley, on the 14th of August, 1887, there were then 
271 men and officers belonging to the Expedition available in 
the Yambuya camp, and they could have carried the same 
quantity of loads (218 full loads) for which they afterwards 
utilised 436 carriers. So that they had a sufficient number 
of carriers then, and could have started almost directly after 



1889.] THE STORY OF THE REAR COLUMN. 363 

the Advance Column ; and, even granting that a third more 
were down with disease, or debility, they could have made 
two marches instead of one with ease, without all this 
expenditure of time and trouble and life. This delay was, 
obviously, a great error of judgment ; this is demonstrated by 
the result that the monotony of camp life, the same food day 
after day, and want of exercise performed for some definite 
object, had within the year reduced the entire force by fifty 
per cent, of its strength, and had left the residue shattered by 
disease and ennui. Troup was invalided home on the 8th or 
9th of June, so that he had not been quite a year in the camp. 
He was sent down river in the steamship A. I. A., which had 
come up river with thirty-five men, who accompanied Ward to 
Bangala. The caravan marched on from the 11th till the 
23rd of June — almost simultaneously with Stanley's start from 
Fort Bodo, the latter leaving five days later (on the 16th). 
They then lost the road, twenty-two Zanzibaris had already 
deserted since they started on the 11th, and Barttelot left Bonny 
with the Zanzibaris in a village, with orders to find Stanley's 
road, while he himself started for Stanley Falls to see Tippu- 
Tib, and try to put a stop to the desertion. Jameson was 
following up with the Manyuema, some few days in the rear. 
He reached Bonny on the 28th of June, returning on the 
29th, and bringing up all the Manyuema to camp on the 30th. 
On the 1st of July, Jameson, Bonny, and the entire caravan 
moved on to a village one day a-head, where there was plenty 
of food. Muini Soumai remained behind with some few loads, 
which they could not have carried up, owing to the frequent 
and increasing desertions. Jameson returned with some men 
and brought up Muini Soumai and loads to the above village 
on the 5th of July. On the 8th of July the caravan marched ; 
on the 11th it struck Stanley's road on the river-bank ; on 
the 15th it had reached Banalya, a native village occupied 
by Manyuema Arabs ; and, by the 17th, the entire column 
had arrived there, with the exception of Jameson and nine 
men, who had remained behind on the road to look after the 
surplus loads. On the 16th Bonny sent back twenty-five men 
to assist Jameson to bring on these loads ; the latter moved on 
and arrived at Banalya on the 22nd — the 17th was the day on 
which Barttelot arrived at Banalya, having completed another 
march of 500 miles ; which, added to his former trips to the 



364 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

Falls, makes it up to 1300 miles. On the 18th (the day after his 
arrival), Barttelot had a dispute with Abdullah, one of Tippu- 
Tib's chiefs, resident at Banalya village ; this was in reference 
to six carriers. About 5 a.m. on the 19th, Barttelot was shot 
dead by a Manyuema, who had aimed at him through a loop- 
hole in the wall of a hut. Death was instantaneous, as the 
slugs had passed through the left breast, and penetrated the 
heart. Bonny was immediately on the spot, and found life 
extinct ; the body was lying, in the prone position, in a pool of 
blood, with the right hand holding a revolver across his loins. 
The Manyuema had made themselves extremely disagreeable 
to Barttelot's irritable nature, by constantly firing off their 
rifles in camp without any apparent reason for doing so ; the 
women also annoyed him, by singing at all hours of the day 
and night. This is their ordinary custom, but they no doubt 
exaggerated these annoyances, as they certainly did not like 
Barttelot. The immediate exciting cause of the murder was 
said to be a threat to strike a woman who was singing at this 
early hour in the morning. 

Bonny then despatched messengers for Jameson, who arrived 
on the 22nd. The loads came into camp on the 23rd. On 
the 24th of July, Jameson left Banalya for Stanley Falls to 
see about having the murderer punished — also to procure 
more carriers, as nearly all the Manyuema had run away after 
the murder had been commixed. In this general stampede 
too, they managed to carry off many of the loads, and a great 
many more were thrown away in the bush ; most of these 
Bonny had collected and brought into camp. Bonny received 
a letter from Jameson saying that he was going to continue 
his journey down to Bangala — to see the despatches from the 
committee, cable home the latest news, bring up Ward, get 
carriers from Tippu-Tib, return to Banalya, and then continue 
the march. In the meantime, Bonny was to remain at Banalya, 
and look after the men and goods that were left. 

On the 17th of xlugust (1888), exactly two months after he 
had left Fort Bodo, Mr. Stanley arrived at Banalya, when 
Bonny handed him over the small supply of goods that were 
left, with seventy-one Zanzibaris, twenty-two Soudanese, and 
one Somali, — the remnant left of the original 271 in the 
Hear Column, — and one European out of five. 

In a letter from Barttelot to Bonny — dated 22nd April, 1888 — 



1889.] THE STORY OF THE BEAR COLUMN. 365 

he had directed Bonny to take over charge of the Hear Column 
if anything happened to himself. At this time there was no 
one else available, Jameson being then away at Kasongo ; Ward 
had gone with despatches to St. Paul de Loando, while Troup 
was ill in bed, and was eventually invalided home. 

Comment on the disastrous condition of the Kear Column is 
unnecessary, as some of the officers appeared to have been at 
loggerheads, and were on bad terms with the men. The loads 
of current money (cloth, beads, &c.) had been greatly reduced 
in quantity through some error of judgment, therefore some 
one or all of the officers of the Kear Column must, to a very con- 
siderable extent, bear the blame of the disaster ; but Barttelot 
and Jameson cannot be accused of want of zeal — as shown 
by their active marching — however misdirected. Mr. Stanley 
may also be blamed for not waiting for the entire force ; but 
the object of the Expedition was to [bring relief to Emin, and 
every day was of vital importance ; the loss of Gordon and 
Khartoum is said to be due to the delay of only three days at 
Metarnmeh. I therefore am of opinion that the necessity of 
an Advance Column to push ahead, was not only obvious, but 
imperative. Tippu-Tib was certainly a great factor in the 
disaster ; but he should not have been relied upon so much ; 
for when he broke his promise to Stanley he would certainly 
•do so to the officers of the Kear Column. The loss of Barttelot, 
and the absence of Jameson, have a very depressing effect on 
all of us in the Advance Column, who, up to this, have worked 
so hard, suffered so much, and succeeded fairly well. The 
best feeling has, indeed, always existed between ourselves and 
our men. Many men in Mr. Stanley's position, having gone 
through the hardships which he had experienced in the 
forest, and arriving at Banalya to find the Kear Column 
so completely wrecked, might well have been pardoned going 
down the Congo and back to civilised Europe — and never 
facing that dismal forest again, after having twice crossed 
it through so much hardship and privation. 

Jan. 27. — Half a goat was distributed among the sick 
to-day. This seems to be a feverish locality, as all the men 
have had bad attacks of it since we came here. My Pigmy 
girl has also had two attacks. I believe that the great cause 
here is the scorching heat to which we are exposed from the 
direct rays of the sun. We are placed in a broad, open clearing ; 



366 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

and are, accordingly, deprived of the one advantage which the 
forest, with all its horrors, had always yielded to us — an im- 
penetrable shade from the burning heat. There is no doubt 
that the most powerful enemy in Africa — for both blacks and 
whites — is the direct heat of the sun; but more especially 
when followed by chilling breezes from any direction. 

Very heavy rain fell last night. I got thoroughly drenched, 
as none of our houses are proof against these terrible tropical 
showers. Each of these latter is invariably preceded by a 
violent tornado. 

Jan. 28. — The foraging-party returned early to-day. They 
treated us to a long story about how they had gone in the 
exact direction in which they had been told to go. This was 
all stoutly verified by' the chief in charge of the party. 
Suspecting their veracity, Stairs cross-examined them, and 
found that they had gone in the very direction that they had 
been instructed not to go, as they had crossed the river close 
by. They were all fallen in, and Stairs told them that they 
had broken faith. The wretches must have eaten about 
twenty goats, as Stairs could certainly account for fifteen, and 
they brought back but three and a kid. This, although 
they well knew that we had given goat's meat to the sick upon 
several occasions when we had denied it to ourselves ! 

I have given William a pair of almost new shoes of Arab 
pattern (with pointed, turned-up toes), and made of tanned 
leather of scarlet colour, which I had given me by the Pasha, 
This was in exchange for a coat after Mr. Stanley's own pattern, 
which is made of very light stuff, braided, and buttoned up to 
the throat. It will have to be altered, as it is very tight across 
the shoulders. 

Jan. 29. — Our Manyuema here are a very filthy lot. Two 
or three of them will certainly die soon, and this simply 
because they will not make any effort to cleanse their ulcers, 
their bodies, or their huts. 

The beads, used as money in the part of the country we 
are coming to, are now being put into the bags, as the boxes 
are getting broken, and the beads are getting gradually lost. 

We killed a goat to-day, half of which we gave to the sick 
(twenty-four in number), in the shape of both soup and meat. 

Jan. 30.— . . . . 

Jan. 31. — The central watch-tower was completed to-day. 



1889.] THE STORT OF THE REAR COLUMN. 367 

My boy has been occupied all the morning in burning grasses 
around the back of my hut to keep off the army corps of ants 
which swarm over the place. These creatures are good 
scavengers, but are otherwise a terrible annoyance. If but a 
fragment of banana, or any other form of eatable, is thrown on 
the ground when not a single ant is to be seen about the place, 
there will be thousands of them found converging from all 
directions in about five minutes. They must be gifted with 
some extra senses, one would think. 

On Mr. Stanley's arrival at Fort Bodo, on returning from 
Yambuya, he had left with him but thirty-six of the Zanzibaris 
of the Kear Column, out of the seventy-one which he had found 
at Banalya on the 17th of August, 1888. Accordingly, the 
Kear Column has now been almost exterminated ; as there 
remain but thirty-six blacks and one white, of the 271 blacks 
and whites who had been left at Yambuya in the middle of 
'87. There are now in the whole Expedition about 200 
Zanzibaris, 106 of whom were strong enough to accompany 
Mr. Stanley from here to the Lake, when he started on the 
11th inst. We have lost altogether over 400 Zanzibaris, 
46 Nubians, 12 Somalis, about 80 Mahdis, a number of 
followers which cannot be enumerated ; also Barttelot, Jameson, 
Ward, Troup, and probably Jephson and Emin Pasha. I 
cannot understand why it is that our leader is so particularly 
anxious not to bring the Pasha away, but merely to hand him 
over the ammunition ; for, with the comparatively small band of 
followers which we have now left, it will be difficult to drive 
through to Zanzibar without a larger force, and by increasing 
the number, even if the reinforcement consisted of women and 
children, we would form a more imposing caravan ; and its very 
size would, I think, have the effect of keeping at bay some 
of the hostile native tribes. 

Feb. 1. — The men fell in this morning, and confessed that 
they had disobeyed orders on the last foraging expedition. 
They all fell down as a sign of their guilt ; but this self- 
humiliating freak is often performed for little or nothing, so 
that we whites have learned to take it at its proper value. 

Feb. 2. — A goat was killed to-day for the sick. There was 
a new moon last night. The men got " rousa " for half the day, 
to go out and collect bananas. During the several months 
that we spent at Fort Bodo, and also since we have come to 



SG8 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

this convalescent camp, the men have always been excused 
work on Sundays. 

Our men practise their trick of catching small fish in the 
ponds by throwing in leaves, &c, of a species of Euphorbia. Its 
presence gives the water an intoxicating influence on the fish, so 
that they soon come to float on the surface in a state of torpor, 
and can easily be collected. A plant from which the natives 
make their salt grows on the water surface of swamps, &c, and 
is uncommonly like our domestic " house-leek " in appearance. 
Feb. 3. — No news from Mr. Stanley yet. I should greatly 
like to hear of his success (or otherwise) in communicating with 
Emin. Still I would prefer to stay here for another month, as 
by the end of that time all the men will, I trust, according 
to their present rate of progress, be really " fit " again. If, on 
the other hand, Mr. Stanley were to return here to-morrow, 
he could not expect them all in good working order ; they are 
far from that as yet. 

Stairs went this morning to try and have a shot at some 
game. He got within 150 yards of some buffalo, but did not 
see any other variety. 
Feb. 4.—. . . . 

Feb. 5. — Last night a native Pigmv ran back to the fort 
in a state of great excitement. She said that a leopard had 
pounced on her, and caught hold of her shoulder. She was 
evidently greatly frightened, and was trembling all over ; but 
no marks could be seen. We placed a goat close outside 
the fort to act as a decoy, so that we might have a chance of a 
■shot at the carnivore if it again displayed aggressive signs 
of hunger — but no leopard came. 
Feb. 6.—. . . . 

Feb. 7. — A ruga-ruga party, of about thirty, left camp 
yesterday — to return to-morrow. Four or five of them, how- 
■ever, returned this evening, bringing with them a goat and 
some plantains. The rest of the party had proceeded further 
for more food. 

One of the Manyuenia died to-day of chronic dysentery. 
The Manyuema always say of one of their sick, " Oh, he is 
well," and are much more unfeeling to their invalid comrades 
than even the Zanzibaris. They actually seem to think no 
more of dying than of eating. 

Feb. 8. — We killed a goat to-day, most of which was given 



1889.] THE SIOPlY OF THE BEAR COLUMN. 309 

to the sick in the form of soup. Nelson is by no means in a 
good condition to cross Africa, as he has now had ulcers, off 
and on, since August, 1887. 

Feb. 9. — The remainder of the ruga -ruga party arrived to- 
day. They brought us a great quantity of food. Baluk, a 
Manyuema, died to-day of the exhaustion produced by his 
ulcers. I am glad to say, however, that by this time not one 
of the Zanzibaris uses native dowr (medicine), as they all have 
learned to appreciate the qualities of the European medicines 
as compared with their own. 

Feb. 10. — Kashicl, the head chief of the Zanzibaris, arrived 
to-day, with forty Zanzibaris, and 100 men of Mazamboni's 
tribe, to bring us on to Mr. Stanley. This is certainly a 
remarkable instance of the extraordinary power which Mr. 
Stanley exercises over the native mind, and the respect 
which he commands. These are the very men who fought so 
bitterly against him on first going to the Lake ! Our leader 
undoubtedly exerts the same influence over white men : for 
whether one likes him or not, one feels compelled to respect 
and admire him. All of us treat him with as much deference 
and courtesy as if we were fully tied down by despotic regu- 
lations and relentless red tape. 

We now heard that Mr. Stanley had received a packet from 
Kavalli on the 17th of January, containing a letter from 
Jephson, dated " Duffle, Nov. 7th, '88," with a postscript dated 
*' Wadelai, Nov. 24th, "88" and a second postscript dated 
41 Tunguru, Dec. 18th, y 88 " ; also two brief letters from Emin 
Pasha, respectively dated "Duffle, Sept. 2nd, '88," and 
*' Tunguru, Dec. 21st, , 88.''' These documents told the startling 
tale that Emin Pasha and Jephson had been made prisoners 
on the 18th of August, '88, and were sent to Kejaf, on or about 
the same day that Mr. Stanley arrived at Banalya. However, 
by the intervention of Providence, the Mahdi's troops from 
Khartoum came up the river in steamers, and captured Kejaf, 
Bidden, Kirri and Muggi, with all ammunition and stores, 
killing several rebel officers and men of No. 1 Battalion 
(who had been in a state of mutiny for years, and who, finally, 
made a prisoner of the Pasha). The rebels rallied together, 
and tried to retake Bejaf, but were beaten off; the Pasha and 
Jephson taking the opportunity of escaping in the melee. Both 
of them got to Mswa, the most southerly station on the 

2 B 



370 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

shores of the Albert Nyanza, and, on the 6 th of February, 
Jephson turned up at Kavalli's, the Pasha writing from Mswa 
to say that he would come out, and that he and Casati would 
avail themselves of our escort, but finishing his letter by saying- 
goodbye, as he might not see Mr. Stanley or his officers again ! 

The party under Kashid brought a little vegetable food, but 
no meat. Katto, brother of the great chief Mazamboni, and 
another native chief, came with their men; who gave us a, 
magnificent dance and sang to the music of three drums. 
Their dance is accompanied by a great variety of wriggling 
movements, and is of a licentious character — something after 
the fashion of the " nautch." 

Feb. 11. — All hands are engaged in preparing a supply of 
food for four days. Eashid's party got one goat last night ; 
Katto got one large and two small ones for his people. The 
sick in camp were supplied with half a goat. Nelson is to 
take charge of Mazamboni's men. 

Feb. 12. — Every available man was furnished this morning 
with a load to carry ; and at 8.30 A.M. all hands were marched 
out of the fort, and off to join Mr. Stanley. Of the ninety- 
nine of Mazamboni's men, only seventy .fell in to receive their 
loads. Like all Africans, they are good schemers. 

We camped about noon, in a beautiful corner of the forest 
— in the shade, with a full view of the open plain in front. 

Feb. 13. — Yesterday we reached the plain about 10.30 a.m. ; 
to-day we marched about six miles, and halted in Fetteh's 
Malonga — the village in which we had stayed when going 
to the Lake before, and where Fetteh had been so nearly 
killed by an arrow. The sultan of the tribe came, and gave 
us a present of seventeen fowls. We tied up one of his men, 
who had shot an arrow at one of our Nubians ; but the sultan 
interfered in his favour, and gave us a goat as the price of his 
release ; he also added a good supply of bananas. The sultan 
wanted us to go and fight for him against some neighbouring 
tribe, but we declined the privilege. Katto was extremely 
anxious that we should go and help him to make a good row, 
so that his men might get some loot. As he was Mazamboni's 
brother and active minister, we excused ourselves as diplo- 
matically as we could. 

Feb. 14. — At daybreak we left camp, and marched about j 
eight miles. We camped in the open, where we experienced 



1889.] THE STORY OF THE BEAR COLUMN. 371 

great inconvenience from the want of wood to make fires. 
We had only the canelike grass of the field to burn. We 
had halted, as usual, in the course of our march for terekeso 
(luncheon). 

Feb. 15. — We reached Mazamboni's about 2 p.m. to day, 
and met with a very good reception. We camped at once, 
and proceeded to kill a goat for the sick. The place is like 
an enormous fair-green ; over a thousand people collected, 
and sold chickens, flour, and sweet potatoes to our men. The 
medium of exchange on our side was the cowrie — ten for one 
fowl. It was amusing to see our men seize their opportunity, 
and make ]ove to Mazamboni's people ; they would stroll 
away with their arms around their newly-made brothers to the 
villages, and return quickly with a fowl or some eatable, which 
they made it a sine qua non should be price of the seal of 
friendship. 

We received a letter here from Mr. Stanley, saying that 
Emin Pasha and the first contingent of his people had arrived^ 
and that they would accompany us to Zanzibar. Mazamboni 
is very wealthy, having large herds of cattle ; most of his 
country lies in a rich valley, through which a pretty curving 
river flows. There are large fields cultivated for growing 
Indian corn (matammah), duhra, and sweet potatoes. There is> 
a vast expanse of undulating grass plain — without fences, on 
which large herds of cattle are grazing. On the margin of 
the forest, just as we emerged on the plain, we met a good 
number of guinea-fowls, and saw a great many new flowers, 
which evidently owed their existence to the genial influence 
of the rays of the sun, under which their colours bloomed 
brightly. 

Feb. 16. — These people all speak the language of Unyoro, 
which is understood by some of our men ; so that there is little 
difficulty in the interchange of ideas between us and them. 
Although they have no rifles, or guns of any kind, yet they 
know very well of their existence, and are aware, to their cost, 
of their deadly uses, as frequent raids have been made on 
them from Unyoro. This latter country is about four days 
off, and the king there (Kabba Kega) has about 2000 firearms, 
which are mostly tower muskets that have been bought at the 
coast by Arab traders at one dollar each, and exchanged for a 
tusk of ivory each — the value of the latter article being 

2 b 2 



372 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

in proportion to its weight ; something like ten shillings per 
pound. An average tusk would be 60 lbs. in weight. 

We spent the day at Mazamboni's, who sent us a two-year- 
old cow, with a small supply of Indian meal, sugar-cane, and 
beans for the men. The camp was crowded all day, and 
the chiefs spent their whole time with us. The practice 
among them is not to speak to their chief directly, but to one 
of his subordinate chiefs, who conveys the communication to 
him. These people, like the natives of the forest, do not appear 
to look upon us as anything very much superior to themselves ; 
they move about boldly amongst us, handling everything, 
asking for anything to which they take a fancy, and rather 
looking upon us whites as pale, whitewashed, sickly-looking 
individuals ; which we certainly appear to be by contrast with 
their well-nourished forms, and rich, glossy brown skins. We 
evidently hold a much more exalted opinion of ourselves than 
they do of us. 

Feb. 17. — After a couple of hours' delay in getting the 
carriers, we started from Mazainboni's at about 8.30 A.M., and 
marched about eight miles over undulating fertile plains, 
covered with a long, coarse cane-grass ; there are not a sufficient 
number of cattle in the country to eat the grass. The cattle are 
somewhat smaller than English cattle, and are of the various 
colours which we see among our own at home. They have 
a moderate hump developed above the shoulders. We camped 
at Mpinga's village, who sent us matammah meal, sweet 
potatoes, a blind goat, a kid, and a calf ; but as all these articles 
were of bad quality, and but small in quantity, we declined to 
accept the gift. 



( 373 ) 



CHAPTEK XXI 



LIFE AT KAYALLI CAMP. 



Meeting with. Emin, Pasha and his officers at Ravalli's — Ferida, the Pasha's 
daughter — Chief Kavalli's handsome appearance — The Wahuma are the 
finest people we have seen in Africa — Their dogs of the pariah type — 
Their liking for bangles and other ornaments — Bonny brings false news 
of the capture of Katonza's village by Kabba Eega — Enormous baggage 
of Emin's followers — Physique and appearance of his officers — Mrima 
commits suicide in his hut from despondency — Our water reservoirs- 
in case of fire — We have our suspicions of treachery among Emin's people- 
in the camp — The roll-call — Successful raid against a hostile chief — I 
dine with Emin Pasha — An epidemic of diarrhoea — Nelson and others 
ill with fever — The Zanzibaris wash themselves in local still-pools — Mi - . 
Stanley ascertains the altitude of our camp — Fever more prevalent here- 
than in the damp forest — Useless baggage — A case of typhoid fever — 
Deaths at Yam buy a mainly attributed to the injudicious use of manioc — 
The two kinds of manioc in African regions — Illness of Mr. Stanley — I 
escort a party of carriers to Emin's Lake Shore Camp — Thorny mimosa 
bushes — The return journey with baggage — Sensitiveness of the Pasha 
regarding his people — Refusal of the men to fetch any more baggage 
from the Lake — Mr. Stanley calls a parade and makes examples of the- 
ringleaders of the mutiny — Emin's early experiences at Constantinople — 
His Excellency cannot make up his mind as to leaving Equatoria — Sick- 
ness caused through drinking stagnant water — My experiences of the- 
quality and quantity of water in Equatorial Africa — Division of water- 
supply into current and stationary waters — Eain-water as a drink to be- 
used with caution — The qualities and components of the waters of 
streams and rivers — Modification of climate in the neighbourhood of large 
rivers — Impurity of streams with slow currents — Stagnant waters of 
pools and marshes have special opportunities of developing impurities — 
Hassan Bakari attempts to shoot himself — Improvement in all our condi- 
tions — Audacity of kites — Wooden disc inserted in the upper lips of the 
native women — The Pasha a very keen collector — The manufacture of 
" poteen "-like spirit by his people — Applications to me for advice and 
medicine— Irritating delay: April 10 fixed for starting to the Coast — 
Capture of cattle belonging to a hostile tribe — Coffee and cigarettes with 
the Pasha — Some eccentricities of General Gordon related by him — I 
remove another arrow-head from Fathel Mullah — People with enlarged 
spleens fever-proof in Africa. 

Feb. 18. — 'We started early, and, after a march of about 
eight miles, reached Kavalli's, where we were received by 
3Ir. Stanley, with Emin Pasha, and six or seven of his officers. 
One of the latter was a great, corpulent individual, weighing 



374 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATOBIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

about twenty stone, and a leader of the rebels. The Pasha 
now told us that he had not wished or intended to come out, 
till the mutiny had occurred. Jephson is looking well ; he 
suffered very little from fever during his stay with the Pasha. 
Casati was there ; also Yita Hassan, the Tunisian apothecary ; 
the Greek merchant, Marco ; and the Pasha's little daughter 
Ferida (about eight years old), whose mother (an Abyssinian) 
had died a few years ago. The Pasha seems very much 
attached to his daughter, who is of an olive complexion, with 
beautiful dark eyes, eyebrows, and eye-lashes. She is 
constantly running about without boots, although she is 
plentifully provided with garments of all kinds. Her great 
delight appears to be in catching beetles for her father. 
Vita Hassan appears to be the Pasha's right-hand man. All 
the Pasha's officers are dressed in spotless white uniforms, 
most of them have brass buttons with the Egyptian crescent 
and star ; but in many cases they have ingeniously cut the 
shells of the Lake-shore into pearl-like buttons of circular form. 

In a day or two the Pasha's people are to commence their 
ascent from the Lake-shore to this camp, which is distant about 
eighteen miles, and situated on a plateau about 2000 feet in 
elevation above the waters of the Nyanza. 

All our men came around us, and gave us their salaams. 
Some meat was killed for our caravan. This is a fine open 
country ; our camp is on an elevation situated close to the 
residence of Kavalli, who is the head chief of the country, and 
is a fine-looking specimen of the Wahuma. He is really very 
handsome, with high forehead, thin aquiline nose, thin lij)s — 
the latter adorned with a constant smile of a rather cunning, 
" blarney " type — and fine brown eyes. He continually smokes 
a large pipe, which was generally handed around when a few 
people collected about him. His clothing is of the same style 
and texture as that of his people, viz., a beautifully prepared, 
soft, pliable, glossy skin (goat or antelope), the hind legs are 
tied over the wearer's shoulders. It would make a splendid 
" drag." Without preparation these skins have a characteristic 
(offensive) smell. All these people belong to the Wahuma 
tribe, which is probably of Asiatic origin ; they are by far the 
finest people we have seen in Africa. They are all herdsmen, 
and despise the tillers of the soil ; the inverse episode of Cain 
and Abel might be enacted here any day. Each carries a stick, 



1889.] LIFE AT KAVALLI CAMP. 375 

about eight or ten feet in length, which he holds upright, 
grasping it with the right hand on a level with his shoulder, 
and is generally followed by a dog of the pariah type, with 
short hair, turned-up tail, and, occasionally, drooping ears. 
All the dogs we met in the forest had erect, pointed ears. 
Some of the dogs here are not unlike an inferior class of 
greyhound, and all of them are valued by the people in direct 
proportion to their usefulness in herding the cattle, although 
I have never had an opportunity of seeing them used in this 
way at all. These Wahuma do not scar themselves in the 
hideous fashion of the denizens of the forest, but are very 
fond of wearing bangles (of ivory or iron) on their wrists and 
ankles ; they also wear some made from brass rods, and 
necklaces made of cowries and beads : a fashion which goes to 
show that traders have been to Uganda and Unyoro, through 
which medium these articles have found their way here. 

Feb. 19. — Bonny and 100 carriers started off, to carry some 
loads, and fetch the Pasha's people. During the night, a fire 
occurred in one of the huts, which destroyed a couple of rifles, 
burnt some clothes, and scorched one man's hands severely. 

Feb. 20. — A letter arrived from Bonny and Casati, saying 
that Kabba Kega's warriors had captured a village (Katonza's) 
two hours distant, and were then marching on their camp in 
strong force. Bonny had refused to remain, but said that he 
would escort up all the people, and bury their loads for safety. 
Only Marco, three soldiers, and a few women arrived here — 
with 150 loads. It is preposterous to see the amount of 
baggage which these people want to transport, both for them- 
selves and their enormous number of slaves. Each servant 
has three, four, or Hve loads, and we officers of the E. P. K. 
Expedition have had only three to cross Africa with. 

On receipt of the news, Emin Pasha and Nelson immediately 
started for the Lake ; with about sixty Zanzibaris, and about 
twenty native carriers. Every one of our Zanzibaris carries a 
Kemington rifle, which he now knows how to use, as he has 
had some experience of practising with it for over a year 
and a half : so that they are useful now, not only as carriers, 
but as soldiers. 

Feb. 21. — Bonny arrived with Marco, and an extraordinary 
collection of loads, most of them being done up in skins and 
mats. 



376 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889: 

The Pasha says that each of his people can, at a single 
sitting, drink one or two quart bottles of a clear-coloured, 
intoxicating liquor, distilled from corn — somewhat after the 
manner, although not quite of the quality, of our Irish poteen at 
home. The physique of his officers entirely corroborates this 
statement; some of them can be impartially described as 
licentious, indolent, over-fed, bloated, congested masses of 
human flesh. I never saw a more loathsome set of wretches 
in my life ; and the Egyptian officials are mostly convicts — I 
have already been shown a couple of murderers, &c. 

Feb. 2*2. — ALrinia, a man who had been suffering from a 
bad ulcer of the foot, committed suicide in a hut to-day ; in 
the orthodox fashion : by pulling with his toe the trigger of a 
Remington rifle, the muzzle of which he had placed against 
his abdomen. The shirt which covered the ] after was scorched 
by the powder. The bullet penetrated the abdominal wall, a 
little above, and to the left side of, the umbilicus ; and had 
escaped a little to the left side of the lumbar spine. It had 
penetrated the aorta, and f rac tured the vertebral column. The 
amount of haemorrhage was, of course, enormous, and death 
practically instantaneous. The suicide was the result of des- 
pondency, as the state of his foot prevented him from moving- 
about with his comrades, who were now enjoying themselves 
in the midst of plenty. The ulceration of his foot had been 
very rapid and destructive. He had had some meat, potatoes,, 
and medicine at 9.30 a.m., when he seemed to be in good spirits.. 
He shot himself at 11.30, in another man's hut. Some of us 
had heard the report ; but, being within doors, the noise did 
not seem loud enough for the discharge of a rifle. As is 
always the case when anything unusual happens, the men at, 
once came and told Mr. Stanley. They informed him that 
the man had died ; but when I was sent by Mr. Stanley 
to see him, I found that it was suicide. He had asked for 
some pornbe shortly before, so that it is likely that he was 
under the influence of this liquor at the time, which always 
makes the men very excitable and rash, although it is not 
very intoxicating. 

I had the huts thrown down, and burnt, for fear of contagion. 
A few davs a 2;o, a lar^e sink was converted into a reservoir 
for water ; to be utilised in case of fire. When the pit 
was disturbed in the preparation, each of the seven men 



1889.] LIFE AT KAVALLl CAMP. 377 

who had worked at it got fever, but they have now all re- 
covered. 

Feb. 23. — All our men are hard at work every day, building 
huts for our expected guests from the Lake-shore. Nelson 
wrote last night to say that all was well at the Lake ; the 
Kabba Rega attack had all been a false alarm. 

Feb. 24-28. — The Pasha returned from the Lake to-day 
(28th) with a vast number of loads. The steamers returned a day 
or two ago from Mswa, with a great number of loads ; also a 
number of women and children. On discharging their cargo, 
they were immediately dispatched back to Wadelai with the 
officers, who returned for their wives ; and a letter from Mr. 
Stanley, saying that each man was to provide carriers, and 
that unless they came immediately he could not wait for them. 

Mak. 1. — A somewhat sensational incident occurred last 
night. Two of the Zanzibaris overheard the Pasha's soldiers 
and our Nubians engaged in confidential conversation. The 
former said : " Do you think these people " — i.e. ourselves and 
the Zanzibaris — " would run if we seized their boxes ? " Our 
Nubians replied in the affirmative. During the night, a rifle 
belonging to one of our men was stolen by the Pasha's people 
at the Lake. These incidents combine to prove our suspicions 
of treachery. Night patrols are now posted to watch the camp 
carefully, as the Pasha's people were observed to collect in 
organised clusters after sunset, and engage in close whispering 
conversation. 

Mae. 2.— .... 

Mar. 3. — The roll call now musters 200 Zanzibaris, 21 
Mahdis, 21 Nubians, 7 whites, and about 250 Manyuema. 
Stairs went to the Lake, the day before yesterday, with a large 
party of carriers for loads ; to-day, a force of 10 Zanzibaris, 
2 Nubians, and 70 of Kavalli's natives, went to the Lake to 
bring up more loads — with the women and children, as the 
natives on the lower plain are rather hostile. The ruga-ruga 
got between 120 and 130 head of cattle a few days ago, from a 
hostile chief. As Mr. Stanley knows so well how to manage 
these people, the result of this raid was that the owner came to 
our camp ; and, after a conference of some time, arranged with 
our leader that for every five loads which he brought from the 
Lake, one of his animals should be returned to him. In this 
way he has the chance of redeeming his entire stock. None 



378 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889, 

of his people have, however, as yet come in to fulfil his part of 
the contract. It is amusing to see our men endeavouring to 
get milk from the cows, as these animals appear to have 
complete control over their lacteal organs. 

The Pasha's little daughter is with him. He told me that 
he is the son of a merchant, and that his parents died when he 
was young. His friends then took him in charge, and he was 
allowed £5 monthly to live on, during his university course. 
He is very hospitable and good-natnred. I dined with him 
last night. He has always three or four courses at dinner, 
although he himself eats very little. His table is always 
covered with a white table-cloth : clean, but much worn, and 
showing a great many perforations. His valet, Surur, waits. 

Stairs arrived from the Lake to-day with a number of loads ; 
some of these were food, but the rest were mere rubbish. 

There is an epidemic of diarrhoea in the camp at present. 
I suspect that it is due to the sesame oil imported here by the 
Pasha's people. This is extracted from the sesame seed by a 
process quite similar to the one employed in preparing castor 
oil. 

Nelson is down with fever, accompanied by violent vomiting 
and retching. His temperature, at noon, was 102° F. I at 
first thought that the unaccustomed daily supply of good meat 
might be the cause of the general disturbance of the digestive 
system from which the men were suffering. To-day, however, 
I discovered a new source of the irritative poison ; and, certainly, 
the true one. There are a number of still pools in the 
neighbourhood in which the Zanzibaris, &c, wash their bodies, 
including the ulcers ; and, as they think the river too far off, 
they also draw drinking-water upon occasion from the same 
reservoirs, to save them the trouble of walking to the river. 
Mr. Stanley and Jephson have found a good water-supply, a 
little over half a mile to the south-west side of the camp. 
This is a stream of pure running water from the hills, of 
excellent taste and quality. Sentries have now been posted 
to keep people away from the standing pools. I distribute 
about twenty-five cups of fresh milk to the sick, both morning 
and evening. 

Mae. 4. — Mr. Stanley boiled his thermometer to-day, to 
ascertain the altitude of this place. The position of the camp 
(at Kavalli's residence) is 4800 feet above sea-level. The 






1889.] LIFE AT RAVALLI CAMP. 379 

Lake is, I believe, 2500. Both natives and ourselves suffer 
frequently here from severe attacks of fever. Both the 
Zanzibaris and the natives say that the cause of the fever is 
their going down to the Lake-shore. When they go there for 
the loads, they develop the feverish symptoms at once on their 
arrival. On the other hand, Emin Pasha's people, who rarely 
have had fever in his province, have suffered much from it 
since they came here. Mr. Stanley had fever yesterday. It is 
strange that here, on the dry plain, we should suffer more from 
fever than we ever did in the damp forest. He is much better 
to-day. Yesterday, the Pasha received a letter from his 
commandant at the Lake, to say that five of his soldiers, who 
had been there, had run away. I fear that if the Pasha's people 
come out, they will be a great source of trouble and real 
danger to us. Over 600 loads have already been brought up 
from the Lake for them, most of which are useless bedsteads., 
chairs, boxes, grinding-stones, &c, &c, Arc., which it will be 
absolutely impossible to carry away from here. The distance 
to the Lake is about eighteen miles, including a very steep 
ascent of about 250U feet, which takes it out of our carriers 
pretty considerably. 

Mae. 5. — One of the Manyuema died here this morning 
of fever ; it was of a distinctly typhoid type. The Manyuema 
are very negligent of their sick. Yesterday I found this man 
in a delirious state creeping through the grass at some distance 
from the camp. 

We have been discussing the large number of deaths which 
occurred at Yambuya ; and are disposed to attribute the 
greater proportion to the injudicious use of manioc ; together 
with want of exercise, want of work with some object, and the 
mental depression produced by their extremely monotonous 
and distasteful surroundings, acting on individuals whose 
systems were also lowered by want of meat : these factors are 
quite sufficient to explain the terrible mortality. 

Emin Pasha tells me that he has known of deaths from 
manioc (cassava) in his province. There are two kinds of 
manioc in these African regions — the poisonous and the non- 
poisonous. Both have palmate leaves ; but they are dis- 
tinguishable by the narrower and smaller leaf, as well as the 
fibrous root, of the poisonous variety. The root of the latter 
when prepared is, accordingly, less floury than that of the 



380 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889.. 

edible specimen. I certainly did find the root of the manioc 
in the neighbourhood of Yambuya of a distinctly fibrous 
texture ; but not very different in any of its other characteristics 
from that of the Congo (or elsewhere), which had been used with 
impunity. The poisonous action of the injurious form is very 
slow. The men who have returned from Yambuya are very 
thin, with very unhealthy-looking, sallow skins. They do not 
put on flesh quickly like the others. They are also very 
despondent, and greatly subject to extensive ulceration. 

Mr. Stanley had a bad day yesterday ; also a bad night last 
night. He is, however, much better to-day. We send a 
fatigue-party for water every day, to a distance of about one 
mile. 

Mae. 6. — Mr. Stanley's temperature was 104*4° F. on 
yesterday afternoon. He is much better to-day. 

Mae. 7. — I was sent down to the Nyanza to-day, with fifty- 
oue Zanzibaris and nineteen Mauyuema. We started very 
early, and reached the Lake plain, at the bottom of the pre- 
cipitous hill which separates our camp from it, about 11 a.m. 
The march is a pretty stiff one, so we rested there till 2.30 P.M» 
The hill, down which we had climbed from our camp, is 2300 
to 2500 feet in height. We enjoyed the rest under the 
beautiful shade afforded by the huge tamarind trees, which 
grow luxuriantly at the foot of the hill, and for some distance 
into the plain. We reached the Pasha's encampment, on the 
Lake-shore, about 4.30 p.m. We walked very quickly ; and, as 
the day was extremely hot, many of the men got their feet 
severely blistered. It is necessary to wear sandals on this 
lower plain, on account of the great abundance of the thorny 
mimosa bushes, which are thickly distributed over the surface 
of the ground here. I had some talk with the Pasha's people,, 
and then settled down for the night. 

Mae. 8. — We left camp early : having previously expended 
a vast deal of talk, in trying to persuade these people that my 
men were unable to carry loads of more than 100 lbs. each up 
to our camp on the plateau above. Every individual in the 
Pasha's camp, even the servants, have several loads to be trans- 
ported for him (or her). We reached the river at the foot of 
the hill at 10.30 a.m. ; some of the sore-footed members of the 
party did not overtake us till 2 p.m. We all then waited till 
3 o'clock, when we proceeded to climb the hill. We had got 



1889.] LIFE AT KAVALLI CAMP. v^381 

about half-way up its side by dark. Thirty of the natives, who 
had descended the hill during the night to help us in the 
transport of the loads, returned with us. A beautifully cool 
and crystal stream zigzagged down the slope, and we composed 
ourselves for the night on the grass beside its bank ; as we had 
neither wood of any kind, nor long grass, of which we could 
attempt to construct even the most elementary form of hut. 

Mak. \). — We marched at daybreak, and reached our camp 
at Kavalli's by 10.30 a.m. The rear of our column did not get 
into camp for several hours after. Half the loads were simply 
rubbish, and I am really surprised that Mr. Stanley allows 
this kind of thing to go on ; it actually went to my heart to 
load our men, who have already endured so many indispensable 
hardships, with such enormous loads of rubbishy articles, and 
all for so contemptible a people, who do not seem disposed to 
lift a hand to assist themselves. My feet were blistered and 
very sore after the march. 

I dined with the Pasha. He is extremely sensitive to any 
remarks made about either himself or his people ; I believe 
that this fact accounts for our leader's tolerance in sacrificing 
his men to the wishes of these people. 

Mae. 10. — Much earlier than usual this morning, the men 
fell in with their rifles, and absolutely refused to go to the 
Nyanza for any more loads. I must say that the movement 
was not to be wondered at ; but Mr. Stanley was, of course, 
obliged to treat it as a mutiny. Nelson had been sent off 
with forty or fifty Zanzibaris, thirteen Manyuema, and twelve 
Nubians, to the Pasha's camp at the Lake, to fetch more loads. 
In about half an hour, the whole party returned ; having refused 
to go to the Lake. Nelson went at once to Mr. Stanley, and 
reported the matter to him ; the latter was at once " Bula 
Matari to-day," knit his eyebrows, started up without delay, 
buckled on his revolver, took his rifle, went outside his tent, 
and blew his whistle, which is the signal for all the companies 
to fall in immediately in front of their officers. The men came 
flying on parade, from every nook and corner of the camp ; with 
bandoleer in one hand, and rifle in the other ; and, within three 
minutes, every man was in his place : a wonderful instance of 
the extraordinary influence which Mr. Stanley exercises over the 
men, and of the respect and confidence with which they in- 
variably treat him. He then ordered the mutineers to ground 



382 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

arms and bandoleers, and march three paces to the front ; when 
a party was directed to collect the rifles and belts. The ring- 
leaders were punished individually, and placed under a guard ; 
the others were sent on to the Lake with Nelson for the loads 
— unarmed, and under a Nubian escort. The culprits were 
flogged with the hurbash by Umari, the Nubian serjeant- 
major. (The kurbash is a common piece of furniture among 
the Pasha's people, and is made from hippo or rhinoceros 
hide.) Had it not been for this extremely prompt and decisive 
action, the mutiny might — indeed, almost certainly would 
— have developed into something extremely serious. 

The Pasha has a very bad leg at present — an anthracoid 
inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. I am 
giving him plenty of advice, but very little medicine, as our 
supply is so scanty. 

Mae. 13. — The Pasha told me that he had been obliged to 
leave Constantinople because he was one of a party who wrote 
very strong articles in a certain newspaper, to the support of 
w 7 hich Midhat Pasha contributed a thousand a year. Emin had 
been in the medical staff of the Turkish army, and had been 
specially promoted to a Majority for distinguished conduct on 
the battle-field. After running away from Constantinople, he 
entered the Egyptian service, and was sent up to the Soudan. 

My experience of this region of the world has demonstrated 
to me that too much importance cannot be attached to the 
fact that every one, black or white, who stands in a draughty 
for even an extremely short time, is sure to have an attack 
of fever directly afterwards. I had myself an attack of fever 
yesterday ; but this was brought on by standing in the sun, for 
about ten minutes, with a small hat on. 

I can foresee that there will be some unpleasantness between 
the Pasha and the Expedition, for Jephson, who knows him, 
dictates to him, and reminds him of how he had to fly for 
his life, which is naturally a sore point, although true ; how 
his orders were disobeyed, &c, &c. This annoys the Pasha y 
but his extreme politeness will not allow him to check us. 
When he is reminded of all the suffering we endured in 
coming here with relief to him, what comforts we left behind 
to rescue him, &c, &c, the Pasha replies that he does not 
wash to be reminded, as Jephson has told him so ; but some 
such gentle persuasion is necessary, as both ourselves and 



1889.] LIFE AT KAVALLI CAMP. 383 

our men are tired of toiling and waiting for His Excellency 
to make up his mind. 

Nelson returned to the Lake yesterday, and Stairs proceeded 
for some loads to the Lake to-day. 

Mae. 14, 15.— .... 

Mak. 16. — Mr. Stanley went off this morning to the hills on 
the west side of the camp, about four miles off; they are 
occupied by the Balegga, who are hostile to the Wahuma 
on the plains. He returned about 10 a.m. He was accom- 
panied by Jephson. They crossed the bed of a stream, which 
was dammed up in places, forming reservoirs ; the water from 
which had been utilised by the Zanzibaris for washing and 
cooking purposes. As the water in these little reservoirs was, 
of course, not very pure, the men had been ordered to go a 
few hundred yards further on, and always fetch their water 
for drinking and cooking from a running stream, of much 
larger size, and better-looking water. To avoid all risk of 
contamination, and make assurance doubly sure, the drinking- 
water for the officers was fetched from a stream about a mile 
off. Mr. Stanley and Jephson now suggested that it was the 
same stream, and that we had all along been drinking the 
same water that our men had been washing and bathing in, 
and which was habitually used by the Zanzibaris for their 
well-known religious ceremony. On examining the course of 
the stream, we found, sure enough, that their unpleasant sur- 
mise was a perfectly correct one. An order was, accordingly, 
issued that in future all our water was to be drawn from a place 
in the stream at a good distance above the place where the 
men washed. I walked around all these streams now, as I was 
very anxious to satisfy myself about their bearings, the whites 
and a few of the Zanzibaris having all been recently ill with 
the same symptoms. We had all been on the look-out for 
the cause of this outbreak ; some susj>ected the beans, others 
had accused the good living, but there is no longer auy doubt 
now that the real cause was in the water. There were manv 
holes and pools with stagnant water, where the men washed, 
and from which they also drew their drinking-water; when 
this procedure was put a stop to, the sickness at once ceased. 

My present experience, now a prolonged and varied one, as 
Curator aquarum in Equatorial Africa, may indeed have 
blunted my fastidiousness of taste, but has never in the 



384 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

slightest degree diminished my appreciation of the vital 
importance of attention to the quality (and, of course, 
quantity) of water to be used by the tropical explorer. In 
crossing this continent there certainly is ample opportunity 
for observing endless varieties of this all-important fluid, and 
I have often regretted that my time and appliances cannot 
permit me to examine all its modifications as thoroughly as I 
could wish. 

The dogmatic teaching of Celsus, although admitting of 
many exceptions, still forms a concise text from which the 
properties of drinking water may be discussed at length. He 
says : " Aqua levissima fluvialis est, delude fontana, turn ex 
flumine, turn ex pideo, post hoc ex nive aid glacie, gravior his ex 
lacu, gravissima ex palvde." The sources of our water supply 
may be conveniently divided into the two great ones of current 
and stationary (or stagnant) waters. 

I. Current (running) waters may be considered under the 
following heads : — 

1. Rain water. 

2. Distilled water. 

S. Water of springs and of artesian wells. 

4. Water of streams, rivers, and canals. 

5. Mountain waters ; derived from the melting of snow or 
glaciers, torrents, mountain lakes. 

II. Stationary (stagnant) waters include — 

G. Wells. 

7. Pools and marshes. 

S. Mineral waters. 

Of the above-named classes those which are most interesting 
in the present connection are the first, fourth, and seventh. 

Rain water, although popularly looked upon in all ages of 
the world as almost symbolical of purity, has been condemned 
■by medical writers, even from the time of Hippocrates, as a 
reliable source of drinking supply. The observant " Father of 
Medicine" says, "Of all waters those which decompose the 
most rapidly are rain waters ; of all waters they are the most 
mingled [with impurities], and this mixture accelerates de- 
composition." Zimmerman, the celebrated physician of 
Frederick the Great, praises the lightness (legerete) of rain- 
water, but goes on to remark, "It quickly decomposes on 
account of the presence of the eggs of insects, with which the 



1889. LIFE AT RAVALLI CAMP. 385 

air is always filled ; that is why it is not used on board ships. 
It becomes still worse when it has been kept in cisterns." 
Medical writers of the last century generally admitted that 
rain-water was easy of digestion, but pointed out that the 
water of winter and spring should be preferred ; because, during 
summer and autumn, the water, in passing through the atmo- 
sphere, always became charged with the exhalations which were 
therein suspended. And so the shrewd guesses of observers of 
a former age anticipated the scientific results of Pasteur in 
our own days. 

We now fully understand why it is that rain-water requires 
to be used with caution as a drink ; containing, as it always 
does, according to the district, dust of every variety, together 
with its invisible contingent of moulds and bacteria. The 
rain-water collected over large towns is for this reason, of 
course, among the impurest sources of drinking-water. The 
importance of this consideration to the inhabitants of Venice, 
Cadiz, and the borders of the Keel Sea — where no other source 
is available — obviously cannot be over-estimated. Among 
the inorganic compounds which present themselves in rain- 
water, ammonia is characteristic of the city, nitrates of the 
country — especially in hot climates, and after thunder storms 
— and chloride of sodium (common salt) of the neighbourhood 
of the sea. Traces of compounds of chlorine, of iodine, of 
lime, and of magnesium, have also beeu demonstrated by 
various observers. Of organic substances we find among non- 
living specimens starch grains, pollen grains, fragments of 
hairs, of wool, and of feathers, epidermic cells, debris of 
vegetable life, of diatoms, of confervoids, &c, &c. Of the 
living organisms of the atmosphere which are carried down by 
rain-watea, the supply is far more bewildering. Leading- 
types of the principal forms of bacteria — the rod-shaped; the 
ball-shaped, and the corkscrew-shaped — may be found in a 
single drop : the rigid-looking bacillus ; the modest, un- 
obtrusive coccus ; the neatly-coiled spirillum ; sarcinre, arranged 
in cubical bundles ; and vibrios, practising their ephemeral 
gymnastics. 

The qualities and components of the waters of streams and 
rivers vary, of course, almost without limit, according to the 
geology, climate, flora, fauna, &c, of the surrounding district, 
and of the sources from which they are derived. The influence 

2 o 



386 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

of season on the volume and composition of the water of a 
river, is nowhere better exemplified than in the case of the 
Nile. In the case of rivers of glacier origin, the annual 
melting of the snow at (or near) the source is, necessarily, 
always accompanied by the washing into the stream of 
enormous quantities of detritus — from the superimposed 
moraine, and the underlying glacier mill — and this is sufficient 
to give the water an entirely new tint, to characterise it during 
the summer months. This is well exemplified in the case of 
our European Ehone. The influence of a high temperature 
in heating the waters, and in promoting the putrefaction of 
any organic matters present is too obvious to require any 
special comment. 

In the case of very large rivers, such as the Nile or the 
Congo, the broad expanse of water has, of course, the important 
additional function of modifying very sensibly the climate of 
the adjoining part of its basin. The temperature of the water is 
always considerably below that of the surrounding air during 
the prevalence of great heat ; when cold supervenes, the water, 
on the other hand, will be found to remain several degrees 
warmer than the atmosphere in the vicinity. Water, having 
the highest calorific capacity of any of the constituents of the 
earth's surface, warms up slowly, and slowly cools. The 
adjacent land having a very much smaller specific heat, 
becomes rapidly warmed under the influence of a torrid sun ; 
but, on the withdrawal of the latter, it very soon gives out its 
small stock of heat, by radiation. The heated layers of air 
over the warmer land expand and rise to the higher regions of 
the atmosphere ; while the disturbance of equilibrium so caused 
produces a current from the denser strata over the water 
surface, so as to equalise the pressure. The reverse process 
takes place during the chills of evening ; and the atmospheric 
currents, manufactured in this way, have the resultant effect of 
acting as a drag on the climate of the neighbourhood of all 
large expanses of water. 

Streams of slow current have, of course, fuller opportunities 
of becoming contaminated by all the impurities which they 
may meet in their course ; and, accordingly, this factor, apart 
from all considerations of climate, is a most important one in 
determining the degree of impurity of running water. But 
the most fertile source of impurity of all streams is, necessarily, 



1889.] LIFE AT KAVALLI CAMP. 387 

the neighbourhood of human habitations. This is as fully 
demonstrable in the heart of Africa — in the vicinity of a 
native village, or even of one of our own standing camps — as 
it is in the heart of London or of Paris. 

The stagnant waters of pools and marshes have special 
opportunities of developing impurities. During the heat of 
summer, and, more particularly, during the rainfalls which 
follow prolonged warmth, innumerable germs of bacteria and 
of infusoria, which are washed down with the floating dust 
from the atmosphere above, and with the earth from the soil 
around, grow and multiply in the greatest profusion. The 
short-lived beings thus called into existence rapidly pass 
through their ephemeral existence into the stage of decom- 
position, and the diffusion of the organic exhalations thus 
manufactured, rapidly dispersed as they are by the expansion 
caused by the sun's heat, is undoubtedly the great cause of 
the poisoning of the air above, as well as of the waters beneath, 
those tainted sections of the earth's surface. The spores of the 
lowest forms of plant life are always supplied by the action of 
the winds, and cryptogamic products very soon spread them- 
selves over the surface, which bye-and-bye come to form a 
screen, that shuts off the bright sunlight from the deeper 
layers of water. The low animal forms, which love not the 
light, revel in the medium thus afforded; and develop in 
countless multitudes. They rapidly die and decompose ; and 
their protoplasmic constituents soon come to supply, from the 
molecular debris, a quantity of sulphur and phosphorus for the 
evolution of sulphuretted and phosphuretted hydrogen. 

With waters of this type we have had to deal during our 
sojourn in the great forest. The supply is not so contaminated 
now : so that, by the use of reasonable precautions we should be 
able to procure fairly good water while we stay in this 
locality. 

One hundred and eight of the natives went to the Lake to- 
day for loads. 

I forgot to mention in my diary of a few days ago that 
Hassan-Bakari had attempted to shoot himself; the reason he 
assigned was because I had given him "twelve" with the 
"kurbash" for disobeying my orders, on the clay that the men 
had mutinied. The men were delirious, on account of the hard 
work imposed upon them in carrying so much rubbish from the 

2c 2 



388 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFPICA. [1889-. 

Lake, and are not now so broken-spirited, as they have 
plenty of good food. 

Emm Paska gave kis kand to 3Ir. Stanley last nigkt, tkat 
ke would be ready to leave tkis place on tke lOtk of April next. 

Mae. 18. — We are all growing quite fat and over-fed kere, 
now tkat we kave so much milk to drink. Our appearance 
certainly does form a contrast to what we presented wken 
prowling about in tke forest ; wkere we were so tkin tkat Stairs 
lost kis ring, as ke could not kold it on kis attenuated finger. 

Mr. Stanley fell in all tke men to-day, and divided tkem 
into companies : No. 1 — kis own company, wkick I used to 
look after — ke kas now given to Jepkson ; No. 2 Company to 
Stairs; No. 3 to Nelson; No. 4 to myself; Bonny is to take 
ckarge of tke Nubians. 

Mak. 19.— .... 

Mak. 20. — Cartridges were distributed to all tke men 
to-day. 

Kites are very numerous kere ; tkey are always about wken 
any meat is killed, and swoop down witk tke greatest audacity, 
often actually snatcking pieces of tke meat out of tke men's 
kancls. 

Nearly all tke women wkom I kave seen in tkis neigkbour- 
kood kave a kole in tke upper lip ; some of tkem kave large 
circular pieces of wood, even exceeding a couple of inches in 
diameter, forced into tke kole ; tkis projects from tke face for 
a measurable distance — quite enough to effectually prevent 
them from kissing, even if they wanted to. 

The Pasha is a very keen collector ; he has already secured 
many birds, bugs, fishes, and insects. He will have great 
difficulty in conveying his collection to the coast, as our 
supply of carriers is certainly insufficient for the enormous 
amount of baggage. He has been describing to me how the 
people of his province manufacture the " poteen "-like spirit 
to wkick I kave already more tkan once referred. Tkey take 
Indian corn and steep it in water, covering tke surface of tke- 
latter over witk leaves, and leaving it till it sprouts ; wkich it 
does in three or four days. They then take it out, pound it in 
a mortar, and return it into a large vessel of water, mixing with 
the hand, till it attains the consistency of gruel. It is then kit- 
to sour — three to six days. It is next dried, pounded in a 
mortar, and scalded till it has assumed a putty-like consist- 



1889.] LIFE AT KAVALLI CAMP. 389 

ence, and then left to cool. When cold, it is mixed with. 
cold water till reduced to the consistence of soup ; it is then left 
standing for twenty-four hours, and, lastly, distilled with the 
help of earthenware vessels. Very many of the Pasha's people 
imbibe large quantities of the liquor so procured. 

Many of the men here are suffering from itch. The treat- 
ment adopted is to have them well washed and scrubbed, and 
then thoroughly well rubbed with a mixture of gunpowder 
and oil. This application causes a good deal of stinging pain, 
but it is really very effective ; after a few applications they are 
perfectly cured. 

I believe that we are to have but three carriers each when 
we resume our march to Zanzibar ; if so, I will again have to 
throw away my collection of curios. The Pasha's people come 
to me in swarms for advice and medicine : I give them a much 
larger proportion of the former than of the latter, as most of 
these complaints are rather imaginary, and I cannot afford to 
waste any of my scanty drugs on ailments of this class. Of 
those who are really ill, most are syphilitic, many have ulcers, 
and a few are suffering from the debility of age, being over 
seventy years old. I also give advice for delicate children by 
the dozen. 

This waiting here for the Pasha and his people is quite 
sickening ; his followers are making no exertion whatever to 
get themselves into readiness. Mr. Stanley has said over and 
over again that our object was to bring him relief, which we 
have accomplished by giving him ammunition. I pity the 
Pasha himself, for if he returns to his province — to the 
people who rebelled against him and imprisoned him — he is 
sure to be killed, and he seems very timid about returning to 
Europe without all his people. He has asked Mr. Stanley, 
Nelson, Jephson, Stairs, and myself, if we thought that he had 
done enough for his people, and if we would say the same 
when we returned to Europe ; we all emphatically assured him 
that he had done a great deal too much for so useless and 
treacherous a lot as they too obviously were. He has declared 
his intention of leaving with us on the 10th of April ; if he 
does not hear from Wadelai in the meantime, he will leave a 
party to follow on after us. We have heard from reliable spies 
that the Pasha's mutineers may at any moment march down 
on us and capture both ourselves and our stores ; this I do not, 



390 EXPEBIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFJRICA. [1SS9. 

however, believe that they can possibly succeed in doing ; for 
the natives for ten miles around are all loyal to Mr. Stanley, 
so that he would be warned of their coming, and would have a 
reinforcement of at least a couple of thousand natives to assist, 
in case of the occurrence of any foul play of this kind. 

I am at present treating both the Pasha and Captain Casati 
for ulcers. 

Mae. 21.— .... 

Mae. 22. — At 5 o'clock yesterday morning, Jephson and 
Stairs started, with their respective companies, to inflict 
punishment on a hostile tribe. They returned late at night ; 
with 310 head of cattle, and about twenty goats and sheep. 
One man, Ulya, had received a deep arrow wound in the calf 
of his leg. The shaft was broken, and the point of the arrow 
was near the skin. By a small incision over it, I was able to 
extract the arrow-head directly through the new opening — the 
barbs would have effectually prevented its passing the other 
way, if I had attempted its removal in that direction. 

The men have also secured a liberal supply of beans and 
chickens, and obtained a quantity of very good skins, which 
will help to cover their nakedness. 

Mae. 23. — Mr. Stanley took a photograph of the Wangwana 
to-day in a group. The arrangement was extremely theatrical, 
as some of the largest men in camp were alongside the dwarfs, 
so as to make the contrast as telling as possible. 

I managed to get a few cooking-pots to-day from the Pasha's 
people : we wanted them badly, having but two belonging 
to the Expedition — in fact, we are indebted to the Pasha for 
most of our little extras or comforts here, including honey, 
with which we sweeten our tea. Whenever we pay the Pasha 
a visit, he always gives us a tiny cup of Turkish coffee ; and, as 
is invariably the case among the Turks and the Arabs, it is 
accompanied by a cigarette. We have now got as much milk 
as we require, a state of things which we had ceased to hope 
for in Africa after our last two years' experience. The Pasha 
told me that General Gordon was the most inveterate cigarette 
smoker, and was in the habit of taking opium — both by mixing 
it with his cigarettes, and in pills. He first recognised this by 
a certain fulness and sweetness of the voice, which he noticed 
after he had taken his medicine. This habit may account for 
his occasional eccentricities, such as giving a man a box on 



1889.] LIFE AT KAVALLI CAMP. 391 

the ear (or a few lashes of his kurbash) and presenting the 
delinquent, immediately after, with a gift of one or two dollars. 
He also told me that the General had become remarkable 
through his eccentricities, and felt that he (the Pasha) could 
not forgive him for one thing, yiz. : that when Gordon ordered 
him (the Pasha) to visit Uganda officially, he refused to give 
him the order in writing, and therefore evaded responsibility. 
Nevertheless, the Pasha spoke, upon the whole, very highly of 
Gordon. 

Mae. 24. — I have just removed an arrow-head from Fathel 
Mulah, the Nubian, who had received six of these missiles in 
his body, on the 2nd of January last, in the forest. This is 
the sixth (and last) arrow-head, which I have now succeeded 
in extracting. It is bent, like the others, having struck one- 
of the vertebrae. I have all six arrow-heads in my possession 
now. (Yide No. 13, page 500.) 

The Pasha tells me that many men in his province have 
large spleens, and that these men never suffer from fever. He 
believes that people who have enlargement of this viscus are 
f ever -^r oof in Africa. He mentioned his own case as bearing 
on the point: he has had fever but three times during a. 
thirteen years' residence in Africa — his spleen is somewhat 
enlarged. 



392 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

PREPARATIONS FOR THE RETURN JOURNEY TO ZANZIBAR. 

A steamer arrives from Mswa Station with some of Emin's people — Letter 
from the rebel officers — Our discussion of the same — We decide to wait 
until April 10 for Emin's people — Treachery suspected in the camp — 
Emin's clerks are almost all bad characters — Some newcomers arrive at 
Mazamboni's — Mr. Stanley's proposal to Emin Pasha regarding the 
CoDgo Free State — Emin presents me with a box of medicine — "We 
obtain another sight of the great snow mountain which, directly con- 
tradicts Herodotus' view — The Monbuttu tribe inoculate with the virus 
of syphilis — Stairs makes the first move homewards with some loads — 
Arranging the loads among the men — Bark cloth suspended from the 
belts of the Wahuma and representing tails — Haunts and habits of the 
dwarfs — Their different ways of catching game — An elephant trap — 
Canniba'ism not practised by the dwarfs — Emin Pasha and myself take 
•careful measurements of the various dimensions of four specimens of the 
pigmies— Mr. Stanley acts as mediator between Mohammed Effendi and 
Iris wife — Circumcision practised by the Monbuttu tribe — Syphilis in 
the Pasha's Province — His men suffer from enlarged spleens — Length of 
an Arab wedding festival — Nelson and I arrange with the Pasha for a 
cook — My experience regarding; a cook with the Guards' Camel Corps — 
Our dwarfs since leaving the forest are gradually pining away — Attempt 
of the Pasha's people to steal some Zanzibari rifles — Mr. Stanley sounds 
a general muster and addresses the men — His reasons for so doing — I 
compare his version of the incident with that of the Pasha's — Circum- 
stances render Emin's return to the Province impossible — Total number 
of Emin's people, also loads — Dance by Wahuma women outside Mr. 
Stanley's tent — Contest between Omar, the Nubian chief, and five Zan- 
zibaris — We institute some athletic sports. 

Mar. 25. — About 1 p.m. to-day, a few of the Pasha's people 
arrived (including a Bari interpreter), from Mswa. The 
steamer had come from that station, and had not even brought 
a letter from either Shukri Agha, chief of the Mswa Station, or 
Selim Bey, senior officer at Wadelai, although these officers 
had orders to write, or come to our camp, at the fir^t 
opportunity ; and had also been emphatically told by both 
Mr. Stanley and Emin Pasha that tha former would not wait 
for them longer than till the 10th of April. The steamer 
brought some passengers and some food — also a short letter 



1889.] PREPARATIONS FOE RETURN TO ZANZIBAR. 393 

signed by all the rebel officers, and nearly all the clerks, 
proclaiming their repentance for what they had done, and 
saying that they would all come out with the governor : Mr. 
Stanley received one copy of this letter, and Emin Pasha 
another. Accordingly, the soldiers alone will number 800 or 
more ; and as they are all polygamists, they will, with their 
wives and children, form an immense multitude compared 
with our puny force of 200 Wangwana (Zanzibaris), and 
twenty-one Nubians. Most of these soldiers are armed with 
Remingtons, and have some ammunition left. 

Mar. 26. — Immediately after the arrival of the above news 
on yesterday, Mr. Stanley sent for Stairs, Nelson, Jephson, and 
myself, to come into his tent, where he and the Pasha were 
seated. Mr. Stanley then said, " I have sent for you officers 
to ask your opinion as to whether we should stay here longer 
than till the 10th of April, as we have already waited for the 
Pasha and his people nine months." He gave us a long 
address in connection with the questions, and we all expressed 
our desire to start on the 10th, as these people have had such 
a long time to get ready ; besides, the Pasha says that they 
will be here in fifteen days ; if so, they will, of course, be 
ready to accompany us on the 10th of April. 

Mr. Stanley and Emin Pasha then wrote informing both the 
rebels and the " faithfuls " — if, peradventure, any of the latter 
are to be found — definitely stating that the expedition will 
leave here on the 10th of April, with or without them. The 
Pasha certainly interceded for these worthless rebels in a 
most self-abnegating — and, indeed, unreasonable — manner. 
Mr. Stanley, although admitting the danger of their presence 
among us, as some of them had already repeatedly declared 
that they would seize our ammunition, still consented to allow 
them to join us ; but on the conditions that, before they 
enter our camp, both officers and men shall lay down their 
arms, and that they will be at once fired on, on the very 
first sign of disorder or insubordination appearing among 
them. 

We all agreed, of course, to wait till the 10th of April ; bat, 
all the time, we felt quite certain that if these wretches 
arrive in force they will simply overwhelm our Zanzibaris ; 
and that, whether they came before or after our departure, 
they will immediately, on seeing a good country, seize all 



394 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

our ammunition, and settle in it. The belief to which we are, 
however, most firmly inclined is, that on coming here they 
will probably attempt to kill us all, and settle here, as the 
country would be very suitable for them. 

Mr. Stanley told the Pasha that his only fear was that he 
would forgive the rebels and return to them, and not come 
out to Egypt at all. The Pasha asked if Mr. Stanley and us 
officers would support him when he returned to his govern- 
ment, and say that he had done his best for his people ; we 
were all unanimous in assuring him that we considered that 
he had done a great deal too much. 

Mae. 27. — The Pasha came to my tent this morning, and 
told me that he had received a long letter signed by all his 
clerks, excepting his own personal clerks, asking him for some 
advancement and reward, as he had recently rewarded the 
soldiers. This communication, coming at such a time, is 
peculiarly impertinent and unreasonable ; the Pasha has done 
what he could to get these people and their families away 
from the clutches of the rebels. It must also be remembered 
that many of them are criminals, and almost all are bad cha- 
racters — having been connected with Arabi's rebellion, or been 
convicted of crime in Egypt, and then transported here to the 
Equatorial Province, to fulfil their terms of penal servitude. 
They certainly do look like a party of midnight assassins ; and 
thoroughly represent what might be expected to be the 
appearance of the denizens of the " Botany Bay " of Egypt. 
His confidential clerks were of this class, and all are enfeebled 
by disease which has been aggravated by intemperance or 
other vice, or by misconduct. 

At about 10 a.m., some of Mpinga's men came into camp 
with the news that a very large number of people had arrived 
at Mazamboni's, who had clothes like the Zanzibaris, and were 
looking for Mr. Stanley. The identity of the new comers, 
proved a fertile source of guessing ; we thought of, first, 
Jameson, and Salim Bin Mohammed ; secondly, Kilonga Longa 
and his people ; thirdly, another relief expedition sent out 
by the committee, on account of the enormous number of 
desertions at Yambuya; fourthly, Tippu-Tib. Mr. Stanley 
immediately fell in Iso. 1 Company ; and dispatched Jephson 
— with about forty men — to ascertain the facts of the matter. 
We all hope that it is Jameson. 



1889.] PREPARATIONS FOR RETURN TO ZANZIBAR. 395 

During- a quiet conversation, a few mornings ago, the Pasha 
told me that Mr. Stanley had said to him that the King of the 
Belgians would make him (the Pasha) Governor of all the Congo 
State (including Stanley Falls), and to the Albert Nyanza, if 
he would accept the post ; and, that Avith the united strength 
of the Pasha's men and our men, they could return and fight 
Tippu-Tib, if necessary ; and drive him back to Tanganyika. 
(This scheme seems unaccountable.) The Pasha would not 
accept the post under any circumstances, as his ammunition, 
stores, &c, should then all come via the Congo ; and, he con- 
siders the Congo State is so young, that he might at any time 
be left in the lurch, without any assistance whatever. How- 
ever, he says, that if, after getting out with us, the King of the 
Belgians would make him Governor of the Congo State, he 
would accept it. If he accepted the appointment — conveyed 
by Mr. Stanley's message — he would have the rank of 
General in the Belgian Army, with any pay that he asked for. 

The Pasha has kindly had my white clothes dyed brown 
for me ; this latter is a safer colour in an enemy's country. 
The dye used was prepared from the bark of the wild fig 
tree. 

Mar. 28. — The Pasha to-clay handed me over a box of 
medicines — about a foot and a-half in length, by a foot in 
width, and a foot in depth. It contains a goodly array of 
bottles, but very little medicine. He asked me whether, if he 
or his people required medicine, I would give it to them. I 
replied that I must first consult Mr. Stanley, as the medicines 
in my charge all belonged to the Expedition. Just at that 
moment, Mr. Stanley entered the Pasha's house where we 
were talking, so I asked him there and then, and he consented 
at once. I thought it my duty before taking over medicines 
on such conditions, to ask my chief for his permission. Mr. 
Stanley said, "Look after the Pasha and his people, as 
well as the Expedition, as long as the medicines last." I 
said that I should be very glad to look after the Pasha's 
people. 

This morning some of the Wangwana were allowed to fire 
at an ammunition box at a distance of 100 yards. They were 
perfectly innocent of the use of the sights. 

Mar. 29.— .... 

Mae. 30. — To-clay the snow mountain which was seen by 



396 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

Jephson and myself in April of last year, and also by Mr. 
•Stanley and myself on the 24th of May following, stands out 
very clearly ; but not quite so distinctly as when I saw it for 
the first time. We all took sketches [of it. The Pasha, 
Oasati, Stanley, Jephson, Stairs, and myself, all watched it for 
a good while ; and all the men turned out to see it. The 
peaks were covered with snow. The mountain range runs 
visibly for a long way to the] east; a continuation of 
Mazamboni's hill cuts off the view to the west. This sight 
directly contradicts Herodotus' view (Rawlinson's translation 
oi Herodotus, page 32), " The theory that the inundation of 
the Nile is caused by the melting of snows is positively 
furthest from the truth. As it flows out of Libya through 
Ethiopia into Egypt, how is it possible that it can be formed 
of melting snow, running as it does from the hottest regions 
of the world into cooler countries ? Many are the proofs 
whereby any one capable of reasoning on the subject, may 
be convinced that it is most unlikely this should be the 
case." 

The Pasha tells me that the Monbuttu tribe in his Pro- 
vince inoculate with the virus of syphilis. (This is a 
tribe quite distinct from the dwarfs.) The rash, and all 
sequelae appear very rapidly, but their course is not so 
virulent. 

Apeil 1. — Stairs left this morning for Mazamboni's; the 
first move on the long and narrow path for home. He 
had with him 140 loads, most of which were carried by 
natives. We weighed ourselves to-day, and got the follow- 
ing reults : — 

Stagey .145 lbs. 

Emm * 130 „ 

Jepkson ...... 150 M 

Nelson 140 „ 

Parke 170 „ 

The Pasha and myself took some measurements of those 
Pigmies whom we were able to find in camp. 

April 2. — Mr. Stanley fell in all the men this morning, 
and gave each a load. He is giving to each of us officers four 
Manyuema to carry all our baggage — including tent, cooking- 
utensils, food, and clothes — so we shall have to throw away all 




NATIVES AT KAVALLI S SUPPOSED TO HAVE TAILS. 



14 



1889.] PREPARATIONS FOR RETURN TO ZANZIBAR. 397 

our collections of curios, as these carriers are small aDd 
weak. Sadi is keeping all the best men to carry the ivory 
due to him. There are now about 260 loads in the Ex- 
pedition. There are 200 Zanzibaris, 21 Nubians, and about 
20 3Ianyuema. All the Pasha's men have now come up from 
the lake ; Nelson brought the last instalment two days 
ago. 

The Pasha is bilious, and a little feverish, at present ; this 
keeps him out of sorts, and not in the best of moods. His 
spleen is greatly enlarged, and he is very yellow. 

Apeil 3. — Some of the TYahuma at Ravalli's wear a tail- 
like piece of bark cloth, suspended from the waist-belt, and 
hanging down behind, for this reason they were supposed to 
have tails — by the natives on the opposite side of the Albert 
Nyanza. The measurements of the various dwarf specimens 
gave us pretty constant results. These diminutive human 
beings live on game, which they kill in the forest ; whenever 
possible, they sell the meat to the Wasongora, i.e. the bigo-er 
natives, who occupy clearings in the forest, and who are much 
larger in size, and darker in colour. These dwarfs are great 
thieves, and often get into trouble by filching the bananas 
from the plantations of the AYasongora. They are itinerant 
in their habits — always moving about — and do not appear to; 
live in any camp for more than a few days to a month at a 
time. They catch their game by means of nets, which are- 
beautifully constructed from grass, or bark fibre, spun into, 
twine. The meshes are diamond-shaped, about five inches in< 
length by three in width ; and, both in shape and strength^ 
very like salmon drawing-nets. They are made about 10 0> 
yards in length, and nearly five feet in height. When not 
set for catching game, they are kept in the huts, coiled round 
a long pole. They are quite as well made as any fishing nets- 
which one sees on the beach near coast towns at home. (Both 
ourselves and our men find this twine extremely useful in 
tying up loads, and keeping our kit together, &c, &c.) The 
dwarfs set the net in the forest in the form of a semicircle ; 
they then drive up the game towards it, and, when within 
its curve, they shoot at them with their arrows — poisoned 
or otherwise. Pitfalls in the ground are also used for the- 
purpose of catching game ; they make large oblong holes in 



398 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

the earth, somewhat like an enlarged grave for the de- 
posit of a human body, and narrower below than above ; they 
are arranged on some frequented game-track, and are con- 
structed with great care and nicety. Each of these pits is 
covered over with small twigs, over which leaves are strewn ; 
so that the elephant, or other desired prey, may walk up to 
it unsuspectingly. When he steps on top of this, he, of 
course, drops in; and cannot, by any possibility, extricate 
himself. Another method of killing game which they employ 
is hj suspending a heavy beam, armed with a very strong, 
sharp spike of wood or iron, over a game-track. This thing is 
so arranged that when the animal, in walking along, breaks a 
vine stretched across the path, the upper end of the beam, 
previously secured by the distal end of this vine, is set free. 
This bears the spike, which is generally barbed, and the beam 
itself is so placed (suspended by the vine coiled round an over- 
hanging branch and drawn obliquely over the path) that its 
spiked end comes down directly over the middle of the narrow 
track, and strikes the animal on or near the spine — preferably 
the cervical : the wound there being rapidly fatal, and totally 
disabling the victim at once. It is by this method that the 
elephants are more usually caught ; traps, nooses, &c, are also 
used. 

The dwarfs are not superstitious ; they compound medicines 
for the treatment of their more important bodily ailments, and 
are very fond of cupping. My pigmy has become very con- 
fiding, and has picked up Kiswahili rather quickly. She tells 
me that the people of her tribe rarely eat human flesh, and are 
ashamed of doing so. So far as my observation goes, their 
morals appear to be above suspicion. They are of a light 
brown colour, and their bodies have a denser growth of hair 
than those of any other natives whom we have met. It 
is short, and downy in character, and covers the general 
integument pretty uniformly. Up to this none of us with 
the advance column, have seen an instance of cannibalism. 

His Excellency Emin Pasha and myself made, to-day, care- 
ful measurements of the various dimensions of four specimens 
of the pigmies. They had come from a district about fourteen 
days' march to the west of Kavalli's. They gave the follow- 
ing results in millimetres : — 



1889.] PREPARATIONS FOR RETURN TO ZANZIBAR. 399 



1 1 eight — vertex to ground 

Meatus auditorius externus to ground . 

Acromion to ground 

Sternal extremity of clavicle to ground 

Tip of olecranon to ground 

Styloid process of ulna to ground . 
Tip of middle finger to ground. 

Umbilicus to ground 

Crest of os pubis to ground 

Crest of ilium to ground 

Great trochanter of femur to ground . 

Knee to ground 

External malleolus to sole of foot . 

Acromion to acromion 

Acromion to anterior superior spine of ilium 
Great trochanter to great trochanter . 
Circumference of thorax below nipples 

,, „ under arm-pits . 
„ skull above ears . 
External auditory meatus to one of oppo- 
site side 

Smallest transverse diameter above and in 

front of ears 

Greatest transverse diameter above audi 

behind ears \ 

Greatest prominence of os zymoticuin to 
opposite 

"Breath of nose 

Length of nose 

Outer canthus to outer can thus 

Inner canthus to inner canthus 

Between angles of lower jaw .... 

Length of foot 



Tokbali 

(female) . 

Age 20. 

Steady. 


Iti 
(male). 

Age 15. 

Restless. 


Female. 
Age 35. 
Restless. 


Mary 

Anne 

(female). 

Age 15-20. 

Restless. 


1360 


1240 


1365 


1280 


1337 


1120 


1235 


1150 


1116 


1021 


1101 


1090 


1112 


1101 


1019 


1045 


870 


770 


850 


855 


650 


570-5 


691 


695 


409 


450 


530 


555 


835 


720-5 


780 


770 


688 


630-5 


600 


645 


791 


740-5 


805 


750 


700 


650 


665 


625 


380 


360 


365 


335 


46 


60 


65 


50 


320 


304 


295 


260 


237 


214 


225-5 


220 


282 


237 


228 


224 


710 


660 


710 


640 


720 


660 


710 


630 


530 


535 


510 


510 


140 


145 


145 


135 


147 


150 


145 


140 


156 


157 


160 


155 


140 


150 


140 


145 


60 


60-5 


65 


65 


76 


70-5 


80 


65 


120 


135 


130 


140 


46 


50-5 


50 


51 


119 


120 


120 


125 


220 


190 


212 


190 



April 4. — Last evening, about 7 p.m., there was a great 
noise in the camp. Mohammed Effendi, who had been en- 
gineer on one of the steamers, worked himself into a desperate 
temper, because his wife would not return to her marital duties. 
He used very foul language about the Pasha. After this effusion 
he came and complained to Mr. Stanley. He told the latter, 
that the Pasha kept his wife in his house to take care of 
Ferida (the Pasha's child), and that she would not return to 
him. Mohammed appeared to be under the influence of 
pombe, Mr. Stanley explained that the palaver was not his 
but the Pasha's, and that he did not want to have any one 



400 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889, 

making a noise in the camp at night-time. The man 
then went off, and declared that he would enter the Pasha's 
house by force, and take away his wife. Immediately after 
his departure, the wife came to Mr. Stanley's tent to have her 
say. She was enveloped in spotless white. Mr. Stanley said, 
that unless the Pasha wished her to speak to him, he would 
not see her. A messenger was, accordingly, dispatched to the 
Pasha, to acquaint him with this new phase of the dispute. 
He soon returned to say that she might speak with Mr. Stanley., 
who then allowed her into his tent, and asked Jephson and 
myself to come in too. The woman said that she did not wish 
to return to her husband, as he had ill-treated her ; and said 
that she was now looking after Ferida, and did not wish to 
leave her. She was then sent away, and in a few minutes the 
Pasha came over and said that this man had avowed his inten- 
tion of entering his (the Pasha's) house at night, and carrying 
off his wife by force : he then asked Mr. Stanley to protect 
him. Accordingly, nine sentries were posted around the 
Pasha's house. The Pasha then told us about how he had 
taken this woman into his house when an orphan child, 
and had afterwards given her in marriage to Mohammed 
Effendi : she was then re-engaged by the Pasha as a nurse for 
his daughter, with the understanding that she' should return 
to her husband every night. This arrangement has not been 
kept latterly, and its breach has led to great domestic trouble 
and vexation. Both she and her husband have very bad 
tongues, and are gifted with great power of abuse. The Pasha 
said that he was willing to allow her either to go back to her 
husband, or stay with him, as Mr. Stanley might think proper to 
decide ; but, at the same time, pleaded that if she was taken 
away altogether, he would have no one to look after his child on 
the road. (It is well that we have no scandal journal published 
here : this tyrannical, segment of the press would, of course* 
as usual, be absolutely indifferent to the truth or falsehood of 
the statements.) A compromise was eventually agreed to by 
all parties concerned ; by which it was arranged that Mrs. 
Mohammed should attend to the Pasha's nursing during the 
day, and return to her husband every night. 

The Monbuttu (not the dwarfs), circumcise their male 
children — applying to the cut surfaces, after operation, a paste 
made by mixing ashes with boiling oil. Circumcision, as an 



1889.] PREPARATIONS FOB RETURN TO ZANZIBAR. 401 

institution in Egypt, dates back to the most remote antiquity ; 
it existed at the earliest period of which any monuments remain, 
more than 2400 years before our era : and there is no reason 
to doubt that the rite was practised much earlier. The Africans 
generally are inclined to be cleanly, as shown by shaving the 
head, face, and removing the hair from the whole body. 
They perform amputations, and apply boiling butter at once 
to the face of the stump. The Bari people inoculate syphilis 
as a safeguard against the disease. Syphilis is very common 
all. over the Pasha's province : he says that it must have 
originated in the country, as it was there when the first 
European traveller arrived, and this opinion is in keeping 
with my observations and experience. We certainly have 
seen the disease in parts of the forest which have never before 
been traversed by any white man, or even Arab. 

The Pasha's people are very sallow and sickly in com- 
plexion, especially the Egyptians, who are commonly called 
" Yellow Bellies ; " nearly all of them have enlarged spleens. 
They do not seem to suffer much from fever; although I 
have seen plenty of fever, with very high temperatures, in 
other places, among representatives of all the different tribes 
in Equatorial Africa. The Pasha treats these enlarged spleens 
by first rubbing over the skin of the splenic region with 
ointment, or solution, of tartar emetic ; and then applying oil 
of rosemary. 

A wedding festival in the Pasha's province requires eight 
days to complete, as there are a number of preliminary cere- 
monies which must be performed during the time. 

I now feel fever coming on, as I write ; and I know that I 
will be bathed in perspiration within a few hours. Nelson 
and myself have arranged with the Pasha for the services of a 
cook, whom we are to feed and pay — the Zanzibaris being 
unable to prepare even porridge. I remember that when I 
first talked over the arrangements of the Expedition with 
Mr. Stanley, at Cairo (in January, 1887), I asked him whether 
he was bringing good cooks with him, observing that they 
were necessary for the health of the Expedition. My sugges- 
tion, 1 told him, was founded on my T experience on the Nile, 
when serving with the Guards' Camel Corps. This was the 
only corps which was fortunate enough to possess the services 
of a good civilian cook for the whole campaign, and it was 

2 D 



402 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

the only one which had no officer invalided home. This 
cook was named Carlo, he appeared to be a Greek Jew, and 
gave no additional trouble. The Zanzibaris usually just scald 
the meal with boiling water ; this has the effect of con- 
verting it into a heavy, unleavened, starchy mass, which can 
only be swallowed by a series of spasmodic jerks, and requires 
to have the gullet well lubricated at intervals by copious 
draughts of water. 

Since our dwarfs emerged from the shades of the forest into 
open daylight, they have been gradually pining away, and are 
constantly down with intensely high fever. I told my dwarf 
long ago that she might remain in the forest, but she 
preferred following the caravan. I believe that the debility 
and fever are chiefly due to the unaccustomed exposure to the 
direct rays of the scorching sun, and the occasional chilling- 
breezes — both of which were effectually excluded by the dense 
foliage of the primeval forest. The entire caravan has suffered 
more from fever on the open plain than it did while in the forest. 

Apeil 5. — This morning, Mr. Stanley came suddenly out 
of his tent, about 10 a.m., blew his whistle, and in a very 
determined way ordered each of us to fall in with our respective 
companies — also to have our own fire-arms ready in case they 
were wanted. It was very evident from his appearance and 
gesticulations that something was up; none of us had, how- 
ever, the faintest idea what was the matter. It might have 
been merely a demonstration, to impress the outsiders with his 
force and power of command; or it might have been some 
necessary proceeding, to check a conspiracy just discovered. 
All our companies were in their places in five minutes. 
Grasping his rifle with energy and resolution, he roared to 
the men that he was Bala Matari to-day, ordered them to have 
the tents struck, and all things packed up at once. He then 
asked the Pasha to assemble his peoj)le in the square, whereupon 
the latter sounded the assemblee ; and, after a little dawdling, 
all his officers, soldiers, and clerks, appeared on the square. 
Mr. Stanley then told them in a loud voice — using the Pasha as 
interpreter, that all who wished to follow him were to fall in on one 
side, and those who would not follow were to fall in on the other 
side. The immediate result was, that they all fell in on the side 
of following us — thereby announcing their intention of accom- 
panying us to Egypt. These trembling, feeble, procrastinat- 



1889.] PREPARATIONS FOP RETURN TO ZANZIBAR. 403 

ing, useless villains, really did appear to have been stirred up 
to reason by the promptitude of Mr. Stanley's action: they 
have, at all events, given a definite answer ; and, probably, for 
the first time in their lives. Some of the Pasha's soldiers were 
afterwards made prisoners for refusing to lay down their arms 
when ordered ; a few of these men are the Pasha's own 
servants, who had been with him for years, and on whose 
faithfulness he had been weak enough to rely. When this was 
all over, our tents were re-pitched, and everything w 7 as quiet 
again. 

In the evening, I spoke to Mr. Stanley, who seemed to 
think that he had done a good day's work : he told me that 
the reason for the demonstration was an attempt on the part 
of the Pasha's people to steal rifles from our Zanzibaris 
during the night. Our men, however, did not use their rifles, 
and could not identify ithe midnight thieves. Mr. Stanley 
became aware of all this, as he has a perfect detective system 
arranged among the Zanzibaris. We were not at all sur- 
prised to hear of this attempt on our fire-arms, for the Pasha's 
men had already stolen one of our rifles ; and we had reason 
to suspect further treachery on the part of these scoundrels 
whom we have come so long a way to relieve. On this informa- 
tion, Mr. Stanley immediately went to the Pasha and told 
him the story, and also made the two following proposals : 
First, to assemble all the people in the square, and find out 
who were the individuals who had made the attempt to steal 
the rifles, and who intended going with us to Egypt, and who 
did not. Second, to march off, and camp about two miles off; 
so as to obviate the continuous danger of having our rifles 
stolen — those who wanted to come with us might come, and 
those who wanted to stay might stay. The Pasha replied 
that he was unable to get his things ready for a sudden move, 
and then Mr. Stanley gave him till 8 A.M. next day ; but he 
replied that he could not be ready by that time. 

When I had finished my conversation with Mr. Stanley, I 
went over and interviewed the Pasha, and had an opportunity 
of hearing his side of the story, which differed from that given 
above in but very few details. He said that he did not agree 
to Mr. Stanley's first proposal, because, when the latter made 
it, he had also said that when the Pasha's people had all 
fallen in, they should then and there be disarmed; and he 

2 D 2 



404 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [188a 

feared that, if an attempt was made to enforce this suggestion r 
the result might be a general massacre, if they refused to* 
comply, as they would be likely to do. He had refused Mr. 
Stanley's second proposal, because the latter had made it a 
sine qua non that the Pasha should keep it a perfect secret. 
The Pasha said, " Ah, but I wished to tell Casati, as he had 
no carriers, and would be very much put about ; " adding, that 
Casati had stuck to him while he was a prisoner, and that 
he would not like to do anything without having his consent. 
I must say, that I thought both these objections perfectly 
absurd : because it was Mr. Stanley and not the Pasha who 
was supplying carriers to Casati ; and the latter would have- 
the same warning as the officers of the Expedition, so that he 
really would not be handicapped in the least degree, and 
should have no real grievance. 

When the Pasha had refused to move in accordance with 
either of these proposals, Mr. Stanley then said, that if any 
blood should happen to be spilt, it would be on his (the 
Pasha's) own head. All this had occurred in the morning, 
directly Mr. Stanley had heard of the attempt to steal the- 
rifles, and before he had blown his whistle as the signal for the 
men to fall in. When the Pasha was again asked to assemble 
his people, he emerged from his hut, with his field boots on r 
and ready to march : he also had all his boxes tied up, and 
appeared ready to start at once. He ordered his bugler to 
sound the assemhlee, as described above. During the diplo- 
matic intercourse which followed, the Pasha interpreted with a 
great deal of energy ; and asked Mr. Stanley if he might tell 
his people that if any of them were seen roaming about the 
camp after 10 p.m., they would be shot by our sentries. It is 
evident that the Pasha would like to remain on here, adding- 
to his collections, and not caring much about having kept us all 
these months waiting for him. He knows that he cannot 
remain here alone with his people, for his life would be a& 
uncertain as if he went back to his own rebels in his province : 
accordingly he sees that he has no other alternative left but to 
come out with us. He has often told me that he would like 
to remain on in his province, provided he could get his book& 
and letters periodically, as he had been accustomed to — from 
Zanzibar, through Uganda and Unyoro : this is, of course, now 
impossible, on account of the insurrection in Uganda, where- 



1889.] PREPARATIONS FOR RETURN TO ZANZIBAR. 405 

•the Arabs are fighting* to place Karema on the throne 
instead of the hereditary heir 3Iwanga, who has been baptized 
into the Christian religion by the French priests. These 
•candidates for the regal dignity are both sons of the great 
3Itesa. Even, however, if the Pasha could receive his letters 
in the old way, he has nowhere to go, as his own people are his 
worst enemies : they would treat him as a prisoner, or, perhaps 
kill him on the slightest irritation. Even if they did receive 
him back again as their Governor, the ammunition which we 
have brought for his relief would last him only a couple of 
months against the invasion of the lEahdi's people. His own 
people have already sacked his ammunition stores, and taken 
away everything — including the thirty-three boxes of ammu- 
nition which we handed over to him in April, 1888. Under 
.■all these circumstances, it would be simple madness on his 
part to think of remaining; and I am sure that he has at 
last recognised this fact, and that it accounts for his unex- 
pected promptitude in packing, and lacing on his long boots, 
so as to be in readiness to accompany the Relief Expedition. 

From this time, thirty-two of our men were constantly on 
-duty during the night — some posted as sentries, and some 
patrolling the camp. This day's proceedings will, I believe, 
-have a good effect on these sluggish, procrastinating, and 
designing people, over whom the Pasha has quite lost his 
control. Looking at the performance as an uninterested 
observer, I should say that it was a most pitiful display of 
vacillation, and want of determination and initiative action 
-on the part of the Pasha ; while the violent display of temper 
assumed by 3Ir. Stanley, which would have been very unbe- 
coming indeed among respectable or reasonable people, had 
become absolutely necessary, in order to make these wretches 
seriously think, and decide what they were going to do. The 
whole demonstration may be described as an effective dramati- 
cally arranged farce : the striking of the tents, Emin Pasha's 
appearance in travelling costume, the general parade, the pro- 
posed march to another camp, the immediate refusal, and the 
subsequent remaining on without being asked. 

April 6. — Yesterday morning Mr. Stanley found a large 
quantity of ammunition, beads, and matako in the possession of 
Sadi, the Manyuema chief; they had been stolen from the 
Expedition. 



406 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

On Mr. Stanley's suggestion, the Pasha assembled his people 
this morning (at 7.30 a.m.). He himself did not appear. They 
all fell in, by their families, and with their loads ; so that an 
accurate account might be made as to how many carriers 
would be required. 

Men 190 

Women and children ...... 380 

Wives of Egyptians ... 84 

Children ...... 74 

Female followers ..... 187 

Infants of above ..... 35 

Total number of Emin Pasha's people .... 570 
loads 448 



The total number of Wangwana and Manyuema is about 
350 ; this includes those who have gone on with Stairs in 
advance. Accordingly, our Expedition now numbers about 
1,000 souls. 

Apeil 7, 8. — 

Apkil 9. — A great deal of dancing has been going on here 
for the past two days : a kind of farewell festivity, as we are 
taking our final departure on to-morrow. Yesterday about 
twenty of the Wahuma women collected from the neigh- 
bouring districts, and danced in front of Mr. Stanley's tent. 
This was a great compliment to our chief. Their movements 
were, however, rather clumsy. The performance was somewhat 
like the nautch, with a peculiar and characteristic voluptuous 
wriggle of the buttocks. The great object to be attained in 
the movement was to be able to shake the green banana leaves, 
which each had stuck in her belt, "fore and aft." One branch 
was adjusted posteriorly in the gluteal fissure ; another (smaller) 
one hung down in the median plane of the body in front. In 
the saltatory movements, these decorative appendages are 
shaken : both antero-posteriorly, and from side to side. 

D. V. ! we all start to-morrow. Our hearts are sick of 
the long delay, and of the uselessly laborious work imposed 
upon us of fetching up so many worthless articles from the 
Lake. The one great redeeming feature of our stay here is, 
that Kavalli and his people could not possibly have treated us 
with more kindness since we came. 

On yesterday afternoon the wife of Omar, the Nubian chief, 



1889.] PREPARATIONS FOR RETURN TO ZANZIBAR. 407 

was insulted by one of the Zanzibaris. He at once came with 
his complaint to Mr. Stanley, who, in order to give satisfaction 
to all parties concerned, had a ring immediately cleared, and 
allowed Omar and the Zanzibari to have it out. The Zan- 
zibari was immediately knocked over ; then Omar challenged 
any Zanzibari to come forward, and take the place of the 
defeated champion. One did come forward, but was soon 
sent sprawling ; then another, who experienced the same fate. 
Finally, two Zanzibaris came forward together, as they 
seemed to be growing anxious for the common honour of their 
tribe. Omar floored both ! The row then extended, and 
rapidly developed most of the classic features of a Donny- 
brook-fair festivity ; it left the five Zanzibari champions with 
bruised and wounded scalps, and the Nubian but slightly 
hurt. Athletic sports were instituted to-day ; and it is a 
fact worth noting, that the white man (Jephson) could run 
away from any of his black competitors. 



408 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 



CHAPTEE XXIII. 

TREASON AMONG EMIN's PEOPLE. 

We commence our journey to the coast — kelson sets fire to the huts — Per- 
fume of my Monbuttu woman — Failure of native carriers to perform 
their contract — We obtain fresh carriers — Laziness of Emin's people — 
Shukri Agha, commandant of Mswa Station overtakes us — Hari, my 
factotum — Lack of hair on the faces of natives — Mr. Stanley ill for the 
second time with a violent attack of intermittent fever — My anxiety 
about him — The Pasha assists in the treatment of my patient — My sup- 
ply of morphine tabloids almost exhausted — Method of making bread by 
Emin's people — Nelson an excellent cook — Mr. Stanley's condition and 
diet — I am laid up with bilious remittent fever — Our leader suffers a 
relapse — Illness of all the white officers of the expedition owing to bad 
camping ground — We change our camp — Emin assists me in my pro- 
fessional duties — Stairs and some men forage for food — Mazamboni's 
stinginess — Eecovery of Mr. Stanley — Heavy rains — Weights of Stanley, 
Nelson, and myself — A native gives us some information regarding 
Euvvenzori — I manufacture some candles — Annoyance by hyamas — Cap- 
ture of Eehan and other deserters from the Pasha's camp — We hold a 
iDoard of inquiry into Eehan's case, and find him guilty — Execution of 
Eehan — Distribution of rifles and ammunition to the men — Letter from 
Selim Bey at Tunguru — Discussion of the same — We intercept letters 
from the Pasha's people to the rebel officers in Equatoria. 

April 10. — About 6.30 a.m. this morning, all the men fell 
in, and received their loads. Those who were in any way 
*' unfit," had their loads carried by native volunteers, about 
350 of whom were distributed among the Pasha's people ; and 
many ran alongside our men, and carried their loads for them 
at intervals, for the Wangwana had made many friends amongst 
them. Edi, a Zanzibari, who suffered from well-marked 
heart disease, and consequent congestion of the lungs, was left 
behind with Kavalli, as he was unable to march. Kavalli 
promised to look after him, and suggested that if any 
Manyuema people came into this country for ivory he could 
accompany their suffari (small expedition) to Zanzibar, when 
he had recovered sufficiently to undertake the fatigue of the 
journey. 

Our caravan left at eight o'clock, all the Pasha's people moving 



1889.] TREASON AMONG EMIN'S PEOPLE. 409 

off in rear of No. 1 Company. No. 4 did rear-guard. When 
all had cleared out of camp, Nelson returned with a party of 
men, searched all the huts, and afterwards burnt them. The 
•camp was strewn all over with pots, trunks, bedsteads, tin 
baths, chairs, and all sorts of rubbish in the basket line ; 
grinding-stones, and one enormous copper-pot, were also 
included in the non-transferable material. We marched to 
Mpinga's ; the rear-guard arrived about three o'clock, having 
been delayed by the cattle, which are not good travellers. On 
reaching camp, huts were built for those who were unable to 
procure shelter in the native domiciles. Many things had 
been discarded on the line of march, as the carriers were quite 
unable to convey the enormous loads which had been put on 
them by the Pasha's people. Some of the latter carried even 
donkey-saddles : a ridiculous incumbrance in the present stage 
of our journey, as no use whatever can be made of them till we 
get to the south end of the Victoria Nyanza, where Mr. 
Stanley has arranged to have some thirty or forty of these 
animals waiting. The Pasha has two donkeys, one for himself 
and one for the nurse Saseta; there are also about half a 
dozen other donkeys among the Pasha's people. There are a 
great many children accompanying us now, and I greatly fear 
that there will be a very high mortality among them ; as the 
Pasha's people are not very smart at building huts, or preparing 
any form of extemporaneous shelter, on the short notice of 
camping for a single night. 

Apeil 11. — There was a general parade yesterday evening. 
Last night was extremely stormy and wet; both Jephson's 
tent and mine were blown dowa, Nelson's and the Pasha's very 
nearly so. I called my Monbuttu woman and my boys to 
come into the tent, and hold the poles ; while I drove home 
the pegs on the outside. I will never forget the " gorgonzola " 
perfume left behind in the tent by the Monbuttu ; it was 
necessary to lift the walls, and air the tent thoroughly, in 
order to remove it. N.B. The Pasha tells me that he can 
recognise different tribes by their characteristic odours. 

A former clerk at Tunguru, Ibraham Effendi, lost one of 
his women last night. The Pasha's people are an utterly 
worthless lot ; they certainly are not value for the trouble that 
has been taken to relieve them. 

Apeil 12. — Jephson and Nelson returned about 5 p.:\r. 



410 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

yesterday. They had travelled about forty miles, and no one 
was injured. Meat rations were distributed to every member 
of the caravan, including the natives who accompanied us and 
who carried loads ; these included people belonging to 
Kavallij Mwite, Mpinga, and Mazamboni, who are the most im- 
portant chiefs in this part of the country. This morning, 
however, true to the reliability of the Negro, very few of these 
local carriers turned up (although they had yesterday received 
several cows from Mr. Stanley), leaving seventy-eight loads 
without carriers. The Pasha, Mr. Stanley, Jephson, and Bonny 
went on in the morning to Mazamboni's ; leaving Nelson and 
myself to try and collect carriers, and follow them up with 
the loads. We ascended the hill to Mpinga's house, and there 
we managed to get fifty-four carriers for the seventy-eight 
loads. We then asked the Pasha's people what they should 
do, suggesting that they should throw some of the more 
worthless loads away. The majority agreed to this proposal. 
One clerk, Yusuf EfTendi, refused his carriers as insufficient 
for his loads : we said, " Very well, stop here." However, 
when we had given carriers to the others, he reconsidered his 
position, and came and begged for two. These rascally clerks 
have a much better supply of carriers than Mr. Stanley or his 
officers ; but they have not yet learned to take the trouble of 
selecting and carrying merely what is necessary. 

On the march, I noticed one boy and a man, belonging to 
Yusuf EfTendi, who carried no loads ; also a strong woman 
belonging to Ibrahim Telbass EfTendi, enjoying similar ease ; 
and one man and about six women, belonging to others. So 
that although these people threw away their loads, there were 
many serviceable hands in the party who had nothing to do 
but carry them, and were prevented from doing so merely by 
pure laziness. 

We got away about noon. Nelson in the rear, and myself 
in the advance. About three o'clock, we reached Mazamboni's 
camp. About an hour after leaving Mpinga's, Shukri Agha, 
commandant of Mswa, caught us up, with only five or six 
followers ; this shows the disaffected state of his soldiers, who 
were supposed to be the most loyal men of all the Pasha's 
disciples. We formed two separate camps, adjoining each 
other : the " Belief Expedition " in one, and the " Relieved " in 
he other. 



1389.] TREASON AMONG EMINS PEOPLE. 411 

Hari, my factotum, a very fine, dark-haired, handsome- 
looking man, would call out (as he has been accustomed to do) 
in the morning and evening; for the sick who could walk to 
come and see me ; also, to give the men the usual sanitary 
caution about the cleanliness of their huts, and not to wash 
up-stream, &c., &c. 

I have been again noticing to-day, as we continued our 
march, how rarely, at any period of our journey across this 
country, we have seen a native with either moustache or beard. 
They have little or no hair on their faces. 

April 13. — I was called at 2 a.m. this morning to see Mr. 
Stanley, who was suffering from severe pain over the gastric 
region : he was sitting up in bed, and said that he had intended 
to take my advice several days before ; but had put it off too 
long, owing to the extra work thrown on him. He said that 
he feared he was getting the same sort of attack which had 
brought him to death's door at Fort Boclo, and that he thought 
it was promoted by taking quinine (ten grains per day) for 
several days previously, together with the indiscriminate use 
of medicine. I at once gave him some castor oil, applied 
stupes and half a grain of morphine (with some atropine) 
hypodermically (at 4 a.m.). The pain was somewhat relieved by 
the treatment. At 7 a.m., however, I gave another hypodermic 
injection of morphine. He drank some milk, which was 
quickly rejected, with a great quantity of bile. He afterwards 
drank a little tamarind water, which also failed to rest on his 
stomach. I then gave him a drink prepared by mixing 
solutions of cream of tartar and citric acid, and adding one- 
fifth of a grain of acetate of morphine. About noon the fever 
rose, and reached its highest in the evening, when he was in 
great agony; the beads of perspiration rolling down his 
forehead from the excessive pain. The pulse was slow and 
weak ; the tongue coated with a thick white fur — excepting 
along the edges and at the tip, where it was bright-red 
in colour. I am sitting up with him for the night, as I am 
afraid that he is in for a very serious attack. 

April 14. — Mr. Stanley spent a very restless night, 
although he had half a grain of morphine hyrjodermically 
at bed-time. He had another paroxysm of the intermittent 
fever this evening ; it was very intense about 3 p.m. : the face 
became flushed, and the pulse full and rapid. To relieve 



412 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

his thirst I give him tamarind water — made from the fruit 
we picked up near the Lake — and solutions of cream of tartar 
and citric acid. I also give him tabloids of bismuth and 
sodium bicarbonate, three or four times a clay — previously 
dissolved in water. I am very anxious about him, and will 
sit up all this night with him again. 

Apeil 15. — Mr. Stanley slept fairly well last night, but, 
about 7 a.m. he got a violent paroxysm of pain, which was 
very suggestive of the passage of a gall-stone. I administered 
a hypodermic dose of half a grain of morphine, as it is the 
only thing which gives him any relief, and applied large 
poultices of Indian meal. The pain, however, continued to be 
so severe, and his condition was so weak, that I felt the 
responsibility of my position terribly, and I asked him if I 
might get the Pasha to see him with me, as he might be able 
to recommend something which would allay the pain. He 
agreed to this. The Pasha, on seeing him, recommended to 
continue the treatment, and also to rub a liniment over the 
liver containing — 



Camphor . 


grs. xv 


Sesame oil . 


I jij 


Liq. Ammou. Fort. . 




Tinct. Opii .... 


'. \ m 


Sp. Recti f. . 


. • 5ij- 



To be rubbed in over the seat of pain, before applying the 
poultice. 

I am rather in a stew about my morphine, as I have but a 
few more tabloids left ; and it is the only thing that subdues 
the paroxysms of agonising pain, from which my patient 
.suffers so terribly. Sometimes I give him small doses, so as 
to economise my supply, but he invariably detects my 
stratagem ; although I have tried to keep it a secret, as the 
very fact of getting a hypodermic, even of water (and no 
morphine) will quite relieve the minds, if not the bodies, of 
some patients for a time. At 10 a.m., I gave him two-fifths of 
a grain, as he was perspiring profusely from intense pain, and 
I was greatly distressed to see him in such a condition. The 
temperature is not very high — only 100° F. ; the thick white 
fur on the tongue has diminished somewhat, but he is 
extremely tender over the region of the stomach. His liver is 
evidently greatly congested now ; it is much more enlarged 



1889.] TREASON AMONG EMIN'S PEOPLE. 413- 

than it has been, and there is a good deal of tenderness over 
the whole hepatic area. 

All the Pasha's people prepare their bread by makings 
roatarnmah meal into a gruel of thin consistence ; and then 
pouring out this gruel on a flat piece of iron placed over the 
lire. As each thin cake is thus prepared, it is taken off and 
placed on a plate. When ten or fifteen of these thin lamina? 
are laid one over the other, they amount, collectively, to 
about the thickness of a cabin biscuit ; and, although non- 
aerated, they really make a very palatable bread — at least it 
appears so to one who has lived a year and a half in the 
African forest on bananas ; I believe it must be the un- 
leavened bread spoken of in the Scriptures. They always 
rub a little grease on the surface of their somewhat primitive 
pan, before pouring on the gruelly mixture. This reminds 
me of the fact that there is nothing that we missed more 
in our cooking operations during the past eighteen months, 
than some grease. I have Nelson's testimony to the effect 
that it is quite impossible to cook without fat, and I un- 
hesitatingly pronounce him one of the very highest authorities 
on this important subject that I have met with : his invariable 
rule is one quarter of an hour to the pound for a roast, a boil r 
or a stew ; as for cutting up a beast into proper joints he has 
no equal amongst us. 

April 16. — Mr. Stanley slept pretty well last night. Seve- 
ral poultices were applied in succession, over the gastric and 
hepatic regions. In the forenoon, I gave half a grain of 
morphine hypoclermically. He drank his potassium bitartrate 
and citric acid mixture. The morning temperature was exactly 
100°; at 4 p.m. it was 100-2°: at 7.30 p.m., 102-2°. He is- 
terribly blanched, and so weak that he is unable to attempt to- 
move out of bed, or even to sit up ; he has to be fed through 
the india-rubber tube which I have taken from my pocket filter. 
(Yide No. 10 sketch on p. 500.) 

April 17. — Mr. Stanley slept well during the early part of 
last night ; he then became restless, and I gave him a draught 
at bed-time, containing 25 grains of chloral hydrate. At 
3 a.m., as he was suffering a good deal of pain, I gave him half 
a grain of morphine hypodermically. He is now able to lie 
on either side, which I hail as a good sign. He had another 
attack of the intermittent fever this morning, and I then gave 



414 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

him two-fifths of a grain of acetate of morphine. He has not 
been delirious during this illness. 

Apeil 18. — He slept well, from 9 r.M. till midnight, last 
night ; then lay awake until 2 a.m., during which time I 
applied turpentine stupes, and also gave 35 grains of quinine, 
beaten up with some raw eggs. At 5.30 a.m., I gave him a 
hypodermic injection of morphine. He says that he is much 
improved, but still feels very weak. 

Apeil 19. — About 100 Zanzibaris left here the night before 
last, accompanied by some of the Pasha's people, to get some 
food; they returned about 4 p.m. yesterday. Mr. Stanley 
has a cough this morning, so I gave him squill and ipecac. 
He still continues the bismuth and sodium bicarbonate. He 
sat up in his chair for a couple of hours this morning ; the 
pain is but very slight now. 

I have felt very seedy for the past three days. 

Apeil 20. — My temperature this afternoon suddenly rose 
to 105°. My renal secretion became very dark — exactly of the 
colour of Guinness's stout. 

Apeil 21-24.— .... 

Apeil 25. — I have now been confined to bed since the 20th, 
with a pernicious form of bilious remittent fever — of a 
precisely similar type to that from which I suffered at Fort 
Boclo, but much more severe. I feel very weak all over, and 
am very much reduced in weight ; I was quite florid before this 
attack, and now I am pale and blanched. It is a very sharp 
attack indeed, but now I know that I am safe for recovery. 
The Pasha and the others were very attentive to me. 

Yesterday I managed to get to Mr. Stanley's tent — about 
twenty yards off — with the assistance of Muftah, my gun- 
bearer, and a stout stick. The Pasha had come to ask me to 
go and see Mr. Stanley, as he was so unwell, and was very 
desirous that I should see him. I found him looking very 
badly ; his cheeks were sunken, and his liver was enlarged, 
and very tender on pressure. He attributed his relapse to 
some error in diet which had again upset his stomach. His 
diet since he became ill has been of the simplest kind, milk, 
beef-tea, chicken-broth, arrow-root, and some water — I could 
never succeed in making chicken-jelly, but can manage the 
beef-jelly fairly well — he has been taking a great deal of 
morphine. When I asked him how he slept, he said, " Very 



1889.] TREASON AMONG EMINS PEOPLE. 415 

well, after those two grains of opium." He had had three- 
quarters of a grain of acetate of morphine during the after- 
noon. Yet he took two grains of opium at bedtime to allay 
pain, without asking either the Pasha or myself. Bonny had 
been nursing him during my illness. When I saw his con- 
dition, I cautioned him not to dose himself in private, and to 
take those medicines only which I would give him. I then 
£*ave him a mixture containing : — 



qs. 



Sodii sulphat. 
Sodii bicarb. 
Acid. citr. . 
Aq. Laurocerasi . 
Aquae 

One ounce (half a wine-glassful) every morning. 

Apkil 26. — I also ordered twenty-five grains of chloral, to be 
taken at bed-time. I went to see him to-day, and found him 
a good deal better. He is to live for the present on milk and 
water, with a little fresh beef-tea at long intervals, a little arrow- 
root, and an occasional raw egg. He had a really good night. 

Bonny, who has been nursing Mr. Stanley since my illness, 
has a sharp attack of fever to-day. Kelson is down with 
bronchitis, and a bad cough ; and Jephson has been having very 
severe remittent fever during the past week, and is just barely 
able to crawl about. Accordingly, we have all come to the 
conclusion that this place is not quite so salubrious as might 
be desired : Stairs went off with a party this morning to 
try and find a good site for a camp, not farther off than one or 
two hours ahead. I think a change of camp will be beneficial 
to all of us, and especially to the Pasha's people, who foul 
their nest very soon. Of course we invalids can only crawl ; 
but it is good to change camp as often as possible, especially 
with such a crowd as we have got with us now, and to be 
moving onwards. Change of air, variety of scenery, and some 
work are good for all of us. I gave Nelson a tonic mixture — 
containing carbonate of iron and quinine ; it is the best I 
could squeeze from my very limited store. He has never yet 
quite recovered from the effects of his life of starvation on the 
Ituri and at Ipoto, although he began to pick up from the first 
moment that he got some meat added to his diet. 

The Pasha has been very kind, and comes over regularly 
every day to see us — sometimes even three times. He is 



416 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1880. 

really very well up in his work as a medical man, considering 
what he must have forgotten during the past thirteen years of 
African life. I feel even his presence a great support to me, 
my work being now a great responsibility, having all these 
white officers, and over 1000 black men, looking to me for 
advice. I only hope that we whites will live to reach Zanzibar 
at least. I would also like the blacks to live through this 
journey, but I know that a large number of them are bound 
to sink on the line of march : from fatigue, exposure, want, 
disease, Avild beasts, &c. I wish Mr. Stanley were well enough 
to proceed with the march again, as a standing camp is always 
depressing, and generates more sickness. I am afraid that we 
will not be able to get away sooner than the 20th of next 
month, or thereabouts. Mazamboni is very stingy, and his 
people bring us little or no food for our caravan. On this 
account Stairs, accompanied by all the available men in camp, 
visited a large banana plantation yesterday, about two hours 
from here. They brought back enough matammah and 
bananas to last for five days. There were nine cows killed 
to-day, to be distributed throughout the entire camp. 

Captain Casati is very retired ; he has never come over to 
this camp, even to enquire for Mr. Stanley, or any of us. 

Yery heavy rain has been falling during our stay here. 
We do not, however, mind it much, as we can always dry 
ourselves again on the same day — so unlike the forest. 

April 27, 28.— .... 

April 29. — Mr. Stanley got up to-clay, for the first time- 
since his relapse ; he dressed and went out to a verandah about 
twenty yards from his tent, which had been specially made 
for him. He was carried in his own chair, and remained out 
until 4 p.m. He says that he feels himself improving — slowly, 
but steadily. He is still very weak ; and, unless he takes care 
of his stomach, he is very likely to get relapse after relapse ; 
which, after some time might hopelessly undermine his consti- 
tution. However, for a man who has lived so long in Africa, 
his liver and spleen are comparatively healthy. 

May 1. — Mr. Stanley has been able to sit up, both yesterday 
and to-day, from 8 a.m. till 4 p.m. He eats porridge made with 
banana flour and milk. It is very light and digestible, and 
has more flavour than arrow-root. It is also very nutritious. 
We whites have good reason to know this fact now, as we have 



1889.] TREASON AMONG EMITS PEOPLE. 417 

mostly lived on banana flour for the past two years. His 
tongue is still coated with a white fur, so that it will be some 
days before he can have chicken to eat ; as the condition of the 
tongue is the most reliable index of the state of the mucous 
membrane of the stomach. He is now able to walk out of his 
tent to the barazan and back with the aid of two sticks, but 
his limbs are still very weak and shaky. He entirely refuses 
the arrow-root now, taking the banana porridge in preference. 
He slept very well last night, and looks a good deal brighter 
this morning. 

There was heavy rain last night, and stunning thunderbolts 
repeatedly shook the place. I was quite snug in my tent ; 
only a few spattering drops of rain came through the window. 
It is now decided that we will remain here five days longer. 

We were all weighed on yesterday ; the following results 
were obtained : — 

Stanley . . 132 lbs., having lest 13 lbs. since leaving Kavalli's on 

the 10th of April, only 20 days ago. 
Nelson . . 148 lbs., having gained 2 lbs. ,, „ 

Parke . . 169 lbs., having lost 1 lb. „ „ 

The Pasha has found a native who tells him of the existence 
of hot springs a few days from here ; in the direction of the 
Ruwenzori Mountain Eange, and Usongora Lake. He says 
that the mountain can be ascended to the snow-line, but the 
upper regions are occupied by white men, who live as cannibals ; 
-and that, accordingly, the natives are afraid to ascend on 
account of them. We have now got a couple of hundred 
head of cattle, and several goats ; so that we are rich in meat 
for our march. I have just prepared a supply of candles for 
the march, by making wicks of thread or shreds of linen, 
putting each into a candle-mould made from hollow cane, and 
pouring into the latter melted bullock's fat, mixed with a little 
bees' wax. The mould is then placed for a few moments in 
oold water, when the contents solidify ; and the candle so 
prepared can be easily removed, and presents a fairly 
respectable appearance, somewhat similar to that of a " half- 
penny dip." It is most dismal and dangerous here at night ; 
as hyaenas are always prowling about close to our camp, 
making a most mournful cry, and ready to pounce upon any- 
one who may venture beyond our enclosure. 

May 2. — About 1.30 p.m. to-day, the exploring party returned 

2 E 



418 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

from the Lake ; to which they had gone in search of several 
deserters from the Pasha's camp. Koor, one of the Pasha's 
" faithfuls," captured Kehan, the man who had been given by 
the Pasha to Mr. Stanley in May, 1 888, to return to the rear 
column. He had run away some clays ago, and stolen with 
him one of the expedition rifles, with forty-six rounds of 
ammunition ; forty of which he had fired off at friendly 
natives on his way to the Lake. About a dozen other run- 
aways were also captured. Mr. Stanley rewarded the captors 
by giving each a doti (about twelve feet in length) of satini 
cloth. (This satini is an inferior kind of calico.) He gave 
two doti to the man who had captured Kehan. The officer 
of the party reported that only these few people were to be 
found at the Lake, as all the rest had marched back by the 
shore to Mswa. The native chief Katonza had told them 
that on the way through Melindwa's country several of the 
fugitives had been killed by the natives — all, indeed, except 
those who had rifles to defend themselves. The camp on the 
Lake shore had been burnt ; none of the fugitives had 
remained there. Kehan was placed under a guard. 

Mr. Stanley remained out till 5 p.m. to-day. He is im- 
proving, but still lives on milk and banana porridge, with a 
cup of arrow-root and a cup of chicken broth, every other day. 
Shortly after the scouting party had returned to-day, 
Mr. Stanley told Stairs that he was to convene a board of 
inquiry into the case of Kehan, and report the result to him. 
This was accordingly done. The board was formed, with 
Stairs as president ; the members — Nelson, Jephson, and 
myself. We examined two officers — Awash Effendi and Abdul 
Wahud Effendi ; also the Pasha's servants Saycl, Busheri, and 
Kehan. All of us were unanimous in finding him guilty on 
both charges : 1st, inciting the Pasha's soldiers and others to 
desert ; 2nd, deserting, and stealing a rifle. After some hours 
spent in inquiry and deliberation, we all returned to Mr. 
Stanley's tent — with a written report of our proceedings, and 
our verdict. We recommended hanging. Mr. Stanley im- 
mediately proposed that if a Muniapara (a chief) could be 
found responsible for his custody, he might be utilised in 
carrying a load to the coast. We then protested that it would 
be impossible to hold the Muniapara responsible for the safe- 
guard of Kehan, as his duties would call him away from time to 



1839.] TREASON AMONG EMINS PEOPLE. 419 

time, when he would be obliged to leave his prisoner alone. 
Mr. Stanley also suggested that he might be chained with 
other prisoners, and be made to carry a load as we went on ; 
but the objection to this arrangement was that he could 
communicate with other rebels, and continue his treason ; also 
that as he is so extremely cunning, he would be clever at 
releasing himself, and might get away altogether, so that he- 
would have to be secured in a way that would absolutely 
ensure his perfect safety. We then discussed the question of 
who should look after him when in camp after a march, and 
we came to the conclusion that he would be neglected ; the 
necessary result of which would be that he would either die or 
escape. Accordingly we decided that the only judicious, 
course under the circumstances, treason being rife, would be- 
his immediate execution. When this decision was finally 
ratified, the whistle was blown, and all our men fell in close 
to Mr. Stanley's tent, the Pasha's people collecting at some 
distance, and anxiously watching the ceremony. Mr. Stanley 
then read the charges, the evidence, and the verdict, and pro- 
ceeded to pass the sentence. It was a moment of tragic 
excitement. In reading the sentence, Mr. Stanley stood up for 
the first time since his illness ; and, while gesticulating with 
great energy, his hat fell off, and, in trying to catch it, he him- 
self fell to the ground, exhausted by the exertion, which was 
too much in his present feeble condition. His worn and 
blanched appearance made the scene most impressive. 

When the sentence was passed, the prisoner was imme- 
diately seized and brought to the nearest tree, where Stairs, 
Nelson, Jephson, and myself superintended the execution. 
The rope used had become so rotten, from exposure to wet 
and damp, that it broke when the culprit had bean hoisted 
to a height of about a foot from the ground. Four plies were 
then plaited together, and he was drawn up to a height of 
fourteen feet from the ground, in which position the body was 
left suspended for the night. 

The Pasha's people turned out in great numbers to see 
the execution. When the rope had broken, and the culprit 
Kehan had fallen to the ground, I talked to him, as I was 
interested to observe what was his mental state in the wretched 
position in which he was then placed. I found him utterly 
indifferent and apathetic ; not merely passively or stupidly so, 

2 e 2 



420 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

but that lie did not seem to mind it in the least — another 
remarkable illustration of how little these extraordinarily 
fatalistic people seem to care about their lives. At Ipoto, 
I saw a black man go to sleep while a knife was being 
sharpened for the (professed) purpose of cutting his throat ! 

May 3. — Mr. Stanley made arrangements to-day that Stairs 
and Jephson should go with a party for food. 

May 4. — Mr. Stanley is much better to-day. The fur on 
his tongue, which had seemed to become a " fixture " there, is 
clearing off. 

May 6. — Mr. Stanley had two tiny chickens to-day, the 
first meat he has had since his illness began. 

May 7. — All our people rested in camp to-day, as we are 
to start to-morrow. This has been a very nice camp, but 
there are a great number of hysenas about; they come in 
among our tents and huts at night, and make a very mournful 
cry. They have already taken off a few children belonging to 
the Pasha's followers. 

Each Zanzibari who carries a rifle has been supplied with 
thirty rounds of ammunition ; the chiefs getting a double 
portion of sixty. About twenty Kemington rifles were given 
to the Pasha's people ; this, with what they had got already, 
makes their stock of rifles up to about fifty. They have five 
and a half boxes of ammunition. 

About 5 p.m., some of Ravalli's people arrived, bearing- 
letters for the Pasha ; one of them was from some officer at 
the lake, who had arrived in the small steamer which had 
come from Selim Bey. The latter is somewhere about 
Tunguru. Selim Bey's letter was to the effect that the 
Pasha was treating his soldiers badly, making them carry 
loads on their heads, &c. ; and it went on to say that he 
(Selim Bey) had decided to send twenty soldiers and three 
officers to inquire into the truth of this report, and bring him 
back the facts about it. These soldiers had ascended the 
hill from the lake, and were this evening at Kavalli's, about six 
hours' march from here. The news made us all feel anxious; 
as we thought that we might now be again delayed by these 
wretched, helpless, thoughtless Egyptians. Mr. Stanley called 
Stairs, Jephson, Nelson, and myself into his tent, and told us 
about this. He also told us about some letters, from the Pasha's 
clerks and officers in our camp to their friends in Wadelai, 



I860.] TREASON AMONG EMIN'S PEOPLE. 421 

which had been intercepted on the way ; containing all 
sorts of lies about us, and the treatment they had been 
receiving at our hands, and asking for even one company of 
soldiers, which would be sufficient to delay our progress till 
a larger force had arrived, when they hoped to seize ourselves, 
our ammunition, and all our belongings. Ibrahim Effendi.. 
one of my patients, "had signed his name to one of these 
documents ; Skukri Agha had also written a letter, but it was 
dictated in a much more manly tone, telling Selim Bey that 
we were waiting at Mazamboni's, for a few days, till he should 
come up ; and recommending him to follow us as fast as he 
could. There are many of the Pasha's people whom we should 
be only too delighted to get rid of — e.g., Ali Effendi, an old 
invalid, who can never walk from here ; and whose son-in-law 
and friends are too lazy, and too selfish, to give him the least 
assistance. I mentioned to Mr. Stanley that it would be wise 
to disarm all the Pasha's people, give the good Kemington 
rifles to the Manyuema, and the Manyuema muskets to the 
Pasha's people. The latter are old tower muskets, and would 
not be so dangerous weapons to use against us — in case that 
these soldiers joined with those who were now coming up 
behind us, and tried to overcome us and our Expedition, 
which we think very likely to happen one of these days. 
Our leader, however, always has his own silent plans ; and 
seldom, if ever wants advice. He had two small chickens 
to-day, also some arrowroot, porridge, tea, and milk. 



422 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 



CHAPTER XXIY. 

FROM MAZAMBOXl'S TO THE ALBEET EDWARD NYANZA. 

Our departure from Mazarnboni's — Mr. Stanley much improved in health — 
"We bury some surplus Remington ammunition — Ibrahim Effendi and 
other Egyptians return to Equatoria — Some further desertions — Jephson 
seriously ill with fever — Dispersion of a party of Kabba Rega's raiders — 
Their tower-muskets — The extremity of Lake Albert and junction of 
the Semliki River — Scarcity of natives through continual raids by the 
Manyuema and Wara-Sura — " The Mountains of the Moon" — Our column 
on the march is an imposing sight — Mr. Stanley and Lieutenant Stairs 
join my fever patients — Saat Tato captures a canoe, by the aid of which 
we cross the Semliki River — Hostile attitude of the natives —I go 
through the rite of blood-brotherhood with Chief Bakamuggar — Con- 
dition of the sick officers — The Wara-Sura attack us while transporting 
the Expedition across the Semliki — Heavy rains — Death of two of our 
Manyuema — Enormous banana plantations — Pombe made from bananas 
— We obtain a beautiful view of the snow-clad peaks of the Ruwenzori 
range — I stud}' botany with the Pasha — Encounter with a party of 
Kilonga Longa's Manyuema — Stairs' boy killed and some Zanzibaris 
wounded — My treatment of four of the latter — The Manyuema recognise 

\ their mistake too late — Slow progress of our column — Jephson's condition 
causes me great anxiety — Lieutenant Stairs' ascent of Ruwenzori — I am 
laid up with African fever — More tricks by my boy Muftah — The Pasha 
and Mr. Stanley fall out — First sight of the Albert Edward Nyanza — 
The Salt Lake of Mkiyo — Slabs of saline deposit at the bottom of the 
Lake — Dimensions of the Salt Lake — Colour of its waters — Our encamp- 
ment at Katwe — Analysis by Sir Charles Cameron of Dublin of a 
specimen of the Salt Lake water — We enter the territory of Unyampaka 
— Cattle raid by the Wara-Sura on Irangara Island — The first attempt 
at alfresco painting seen by me in Africa — The " Toro " hills — Kabba 
Rega's bodyguard, called Wara-Sura, attack us, but are put to flight — 
We come upon two of their deserted camps — Our W'ahuma guides leave 
us — The shores of the Albert Edward Nyanza are extremely malarious, 
and the water undrinkable — Many cases of fever in the camp — My 
pigmy woman is a useful nurse — Our march through the Toro district — 
Fever cases still on the increase — We enter the country of Ankori. 

Mat 8. — We left Mazamboni's at 6.30 a.m., and marched 
through a very rich country, with plenty of bananas, Indian 
corn, beans, &c. At the end of three and three-quarter hours 
we camped. Mazamboni's people came all the way with us 
to this camp, although it is well out of their own country ; and 
they were most kind and assiduous in carrying our men's 
boxes for them on the way. 



1889.] MAZAMBOXFS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 423 

Our old camp was burnt by the rear-guard before clearing 
out. Mr. Stanley now appears very well ; he has some chicken 
the first thing in the morning, and drinks a glass of milk. 
On the road, he drinks either water or milk. On arrival in 
camp, which is usually about 11 a.m., he gets banana porridge, 
prepared by boiling banana flour with milk ; he also drinks 
some milk. During the clay he has a cup of arrowroot, and 
the infusion prepared from two chickens. He is carried on a 
stretcher made by Jephson, which is very comfortable and 
very light ; it is made from ox-hide and bamboo, and weighs 
about fifteen pounds — just half the weight of the "New 
Pattern Stretcher " used by the " Medical Staff Corps " of the 
British Army. 

Our new camping-ground is called Bunyambiri. We 
marched about 5f miles to-day, and had a good view of 
Buwenzori in the distance. 

May 9. — Before leaving Mazamboni's camp, about thirty- 
five boxes of Kemino-ton ammunition were buried under the 
floor of the house occupied by Stairs and Jephson, close to a 
large tree near the river. We left camp to-day at 5.30 a.m., 
and marched six miles. We stopped at a small settlement in 
a large ravine, formed by the approximation of two mountain 
ranges — of which the eastern one is snow-capped in the 
distance — with open intervals between the peaks, through which 
the sky can be seen. The natives were friendly, and came 
in to speak to us. Food is not very plentiful in this vicinity ; 
the natives told us that the Manyuema (Kilonga Longa's 
party) have their camp situated about two days off, and have 
lately been making raids in their direction ; but had decamped 
hastily, on hearing that Bula Matari was approaching. 

Ibrahim Effendi came to me last night, and asked me to go 
to Mr. Stanley and the Pasha, and procure carriers for him to 
convey his father-in-law, Ali Effendi : an invalid who owes his 
delicacy of health entirely to his own indiscretions. I told him 
that he had already been supplied with carriers. I also told him 
that unless Ali Effendi was carried, he would assuredly die on 
the path, as he was unable to travel ; and furthermore, that his 
father-in-law's blood would be upon his head, as he had had strong 
men-servants, whom he allowed to desert. Under the circum- 
stances, I considered that the best advice I could give was to 
recommend that Ali Effendi should return with his two officers 



424 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

and some men of the Pasha's, who had caught us up at 5 p.m. 
yesterday, and who belong to the party which is following us. 
Ibrahim Effendi agreed to this, and it even seemed to be what 
he wanted. He begged me to speak to the Pasha in the morning 
about the arrangement I suggested, lest he should be annoyed. 
I complied with his request, and obtained the free consent of 
Emin Pasha ; Ali Effendi was sent to retrace his steps, and we 
left quietly this morning to proceed in the opposite direction. 

May 10. — We left camp at 5.30 this morning, and marched 
oyer a very undulating country. Three of the Pasha's soldiers 
deserted last night. Erom the progress of the desertions 
I should have little hesitation in prophesying that he 
will eventually be left alone; still he continues to believe 
that his people are most devoted to him, as they constantly 
come and assure him of their intense desire to accompany him 
wherever he may choose to go. 

Mr. Stanley is carried every day on the march in his. 
Tcatanda (stretcher made of hide). He feels fatigued on 
arrival at camp ; still he is irajxroving. We camped to-day 
about 11.30 a.m. ; after a march of five-and-a-half miles, up 
hill and down hill. 

The Pasha's people are very reckless in settling down for 
the night ; they encamp everywhere all over the district, and 
expose themselves greatly — if danger were around, they would 
form an easy prey indeed. 

Jephson is very feverish and almost hysterical, having 
to perform these marches with a temperature of 103° F., or 
more. 

May 11. — We left camp early to-day. Mr. Stanley feels 
much better. Jephson is, I fear, in for a very serious illness ; 
when he arrived in camp (at 2 p.m.) his temperature was 
104° F., and he looked very badly. He is naturally of an 
anxious temperament, although full of work and energy. He 
now thinks that the fever will kill him, as he feels that he is. 
losing his senses ; indeed, he is bordering on delirium from 
excessive fever. With regard to high temperatures, I do not 
much mind that now, after my experiences of this Expedition : 
for I have seen every officer now here do a days march with 
a temperature of over 105° F. 

At 5 p.m., Mr. Stanley blew his whistle, and the companies, 
all fell in, with their respective officers in front. Xos. 1 and 2 



1889.] MAZAMBONTS TO ALBERT EDWARD NY AN Z A. 425 

Companies were then sent off with Stairs to disperse some of 
Kabba Kega's raiders, who are very close to our camp ; Shukri 
Agha was also sent out with about ten of the Pasha's people, 
and the flag which they always carry with them as a talisman. 
The enemy immediately retreated, and concealed themselves 
in the long grass. They have muzzle-loaders which they load 
with bits of stone, brass, iron, copper, or any other hard 
material which they pick up ; these irregularly-shaped mis- 
siles generally make a very bad wound. Most of their 
weapons are small tower-muskets. When the pursuers reached 
the top of a hill, where the enemy lay in ambush, scattered 
about in the long grass, a fusilade commenced ; and one man 
(Casati's favourite servant) was shot through the head, and 
killed on the sjjot. Two of the Kabba Eega people were killed 
and another wounded. Two cows were captured. 

May 12. — I was up twice last night to see Jephson, who is 
really in a very serious condition : he does not sleep at all. 
At 11 p.m., I gave him half a grain of morphia ; and at 3 a.m. 
this morning, I gave him a large dose of chloral hydrate. His 
fever commences to rise about 8 . 30 or 9 A.M. Accordingly, I 
give him thirty grains of quinine about 5.30 every morning; 
in spite of this, however, his temperature at 11.30 a.m. was 
103° F., and at 4.45 p.m., 104-2° F. For the last week I have 
also given him one twenty-fifth of a grain of arsenic, three 
times a day. 

We marched about four-and-a-half miles to-day, along a very 
rough path ; and from our camp, which is close to a banana plan- 
tation, we could just see the southern extremity of the Albert 
Nyanza, with a long plain about fifty or sixty miles in length, by 
thirty in breadth, stretching away to the south-west. It at 
times looked as if there was water spread out over this plain — 
like a mirage effect ; and at intervals the dry land was dis- 
tinctly seen : no appearance of water beyond the edge of the 
lake proper, excepting that of the Semliki Kiver, which runs 
into the southern extremity of the Albert. This plain is 
studded all over with small bush ; and from this mirage- 
effect which I have been observing to-day, I can well 
understand Sir Samuel Baker when standing at Yacovia, 
believing the Albert stretched "illimitably" to the south-west; 
the plain at times having all the optical appearance of a water- 
surface, with the increased effect of its glistening streak of the 



426 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

sinning stream of the Semliki River, flowing through it on its 
way to the lake. 

The name of this place is Mboga, another small settlement 
on the west is called Uhopo, and the part of the plain just 
beneath us is called Kiryuama. Katonza, a friendly chief, 
has his country on the plain below, not far from us. There 
seems to be very little food about these settlements ; this 
fact is owing, I presume, to the destructive raids of Kabba 
Kega, King of Unyoro, who has a force armed with upwards 
of 2000 rifles — considerably more than even that of the 
standing army of Uganda. Kilonga Longa's Manyuema 
came to a market-place, a few miles from here, on a market- 
day, surrounded the market, shot a great many of the market- 
people, made prisoners of the rest, and, of course, scared 
the poor country people quite out of their settlements. 
Accordingly, we see very few natives about these parts — 
only a few now and again, and these always posted at a 
respectful distance ; sitting on the tops of the hills, a long- 
way off. 

May 13. — Jephson's temperature was 104° F. last night, and I 
found it the same this morning, although I had given him forty 
grains of quinine at a very early hour. At noon his tempera- 
ture was 103 • 4° F., and I gave him another dose of quinine. He 
had a tepid bath soon afterwards, and, after another short in- 
terval, two grains of opium were administered ; which had the 
effect of producing a little sleep, and lessening the intense 
lumbar pain. In the evening his temperature was 104° F. I 
then gave him another tepid bath, and douched his head well 
with cold water, which gave him some relief. I gave him two 
Livingstone rousers at 4 p.m. 

We remained in camp all day ; the men went out to search 
for food — in two detachments : one in the early morning, led 
by Stairs ; the other at noon, with Nelson. 

May 14. — We started early this morning, and marched 
eastwards for about six miles, along the low lands. We halted 
about 10.30 a.m., in a region rich in bananas. 

Jephson slept a little last night. I gave him thirty grains 
of quinine early in the morning. His temperature at 5 . 30 a.m. 
was 102° F. ; at 3 p.m., it was 103° F. I gave him forty drops of 
chlorodyne to-day, and in half an hour he burst into a profuse 
perspiration. 



1889.] MAZAMBONTS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 427 

Stairs bad fever when he returned to camp last night ; his 
temperature was down to normal in the morning, and I gave 
him twenty grains of quinine, but the fever returned this 
afternoon. This is a very feverish locality, as we are in a 
position to receive the miasma from the low swampy plains of 
the Semliki valley. Several of our men are now down with 
fever. 

Jephson had a very profuse sweat last night. I gave him, 
very early in the morning, thirty grains of quinine dissolved 
in citric acid. At 7 a.m. I gave him a tabloid of camphor and 
opium. 

I gave Stairs some calomel and podophyllin last night, as 
his temperature was high. After I had given him his dose of 
quinine to-day (twenty grains), his temperature began to run 
up rapidly, and he became intensely bilious. 

This morning Nelson went to the river with his company, to 
try and get canoes for our transport across the stream. About 
100 natives also accompanied him. Half of No. 1 Company 
went in another direction ; with the double object of capturing 
canoes, and procuring a supply of food. We stayed here to-day, 
as the place is wealthy in bananas, and every individual has 
been instructed to prepare five days' rations — to live on till 
we arrive at another hospitable locality. 

This country is very hilly ; the long broad plain below — the 
former lake-bed — now studded with trees and bush, extends 
to the Unyoro hills on the east. These latter are a continua- 
tion of the Kuwenzori range. The snow-capped peaks of 
the latter — the " Mountains of the Moon " [Monies Lunae) of 
Ptolemy and Herodotus — were believed by the former writer 
to be the primary source of the giant stream of the Nile. 

Our column on the march forms a very imposing sight, and 
covers about two-and-a-half miles of path, as it moves along in 
close file : I should say that between whites, Wangwana, 
Manyuema, the Pasha's people and their servants, and numer- 
ous camp followers, it numbers about 1200 souls. 

Jephson's temperature at 2 p.m. to-day was 101*8° F. ; at 
4 p.m. it had reached 103° F. I then gave him half a bottle of 
Warburg's tincture ; I gave him the second half at 7 p.m. 

Stairs' temperature at 2 p.m. was 105° F. I then gave 
him some pilocarpine hypodermically, and it went down to 
103 • 6° F. He is now, I am glad to say, perspiring profusely. 



428 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

May 15.— . . . . 

May 16. — At 8.30 p.m. last evening, Stairs' temperature 
was normal ; at 9 p.m. a shivering fit came on, and the tem- 
perature again ran up — the paroxysm lasting till 4 a.m. this 
morning. The fever then subsided, and he took an entire 
bottle of Warburg's tincture. The fever, however, returned at 
7.30 a.m., but the paroxysm did not last so long, nor was the 
temperature so high. He had some distressing bilious vomit- 
ing, and he is slightly jaundiced. He drinks large quantities 
of tamarind-water, which has a refreshing, acid taste. I gave 
him calomel and podophyllin last night. 

Jephson's temperature was over 103° F. last night. Yesterday 
I gave him half a bottle of Warburg's tincture at 4 P.M., and 
the other half at 7 p.m. At 7 . 30 a.m., this morning his tem- 
perature was 102 * 8° F. ; at 9 . 30 a.m., it had fallen one degree. 
At 8 . 30 I gave him two arsenical tabloids (one twenty-fifth 
of a grain each). 

Mr. Stanley consulted me yesterday; he was suffering- 
from gastric pain, and felt feverish. At 10 a.m., I found his 
temperature 100° F. ; at 5 p.m., it was 102° F. I sincerely 
hope that he is not going to have another severe attack like 
his last ; if he does, I will be in a terrible difficulty, and 
he cannot do so well ; as I have finished all the morphine 
belonging to the Expedition stores, and it is the only thing 
which gives relief from these gastric pains from which he 
suffers so much. 

Stairs, who went with a reconnoitring party to the Semliki 
river yesterday morning, returned to-day, reporting : that the 
river was from sixty to eighty yards in width, that he could 
find no canoes, and that he had been fired at by the Wara-Sura, 
who were armed with both rifles and arrows. 

Mr. Stanley's temperature is 99° F. this evening ; he, how- 
ever, still suffers from the localised jmin. I again examined 
him, but there was no evidence on the surface of anything going 
wrong within ; there was slight tenderness on pressure, and on 
percussion ; the spleen was very slightly tender, but not appre- 
ciably enlarged. He had a very restless night. He took some 
vegetables to-day, which had been boiled in veal-broth and 
then strained off. 

May 17. — We marched early this morning, and travelled 
about eight miles, along a very low plain. The sun was burn- 



1889.] MAZAMBONVS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 429 

ino- hot all the time. We reached the Seniliki Kiver about 
11 a.m., and found this part of the stream about forty or 
fifty yards wide, and with a rapid current — it is forty-eight 
feet above the level of the Albert Nyanza; it is four feet 
deep for about three-fourths of the breadth, and about nine 
feet deep in the central fourth. Just as we arrived, we saw 
a canoe floating down stream, but were unable to get at 
it. Two parties were then sent off : one up the river, and the 
other down. There is no way of crossing the stream, except 
we set to work and make a " dug-out " for ourselves ; which 
represents a great deal of time and trouble. Accordingly, Saat 
Tato and Uledi very pluckily swam across the river and captured 
a canoe. The natives, however, on seeing their design, let fly 
large numbers of arrows at them. They succeeded in 
capturing the canoe; but Saat Tato received a deep arrow- 
wound, over the left shoulder-blade. 

We now formed camp, and fifty men were sent across the 
river, under command of Bonny, to occupy the opposite side 
and drive away the natives, who appeared to be viciously 
disposed. 

Yesterday, I had to perform the ceremony of blood-brother- 
hood with the chief who had come with us to show us the 
road. His name is Bakamuggar. The ceremony consisted in 
sitting down on the ground, face to face, with extended legs — 
my right leg was placed over his left, and his right over my 
left. Murabo then incised us — two small cuts over the knee 
in each case. He next put a little saltanto the wounds of 
each; then took a leaf, on which he removed some of the 
native's blood to rub on my wounds, and; wee versa. During 
the performance, he made signs like a conjuror, and uttered 
several mysterious sentences. The burden of one was, " May 
all your children, goats and fowls, die of an evil disease 
if this vow of friendship be ever broken through your fault." 
I was obliged to give my new " brother " a cow, and he was 
to have given me one in return, to complete the bond of 
blood-brotherhood. I gave him mine, but, as he had not one 
with him to present to me, he asked Emin Pasha for a calf, 
which was at once brought him, to be handed over to me. 
With genuine African trickery, he then sent off both cow and 
calf to his home, and gave me nothing ; although he had 
himself impressed upon me that the exchange on both sides 



430 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

was absolutely necessary to complete the ceremony, and make 
it a genuine bond of friendship. 

Mr. Stanley, Stairs and Jephson, are all three very seedy 
with fever, and had to be carried on the march to-day. We 
camped in a bad place — a plantation grove, close to the river. 
A road has been cut through to the river, and everything got 
in readiness for transporting the entire column across the 
stream to-morrow. The natives attempted to attack us, and 
continued prowling about during the night ; so that there was 
shooting going on from time to time all through the earlier part 
of the night, and towards morning ; till at last they appeared 
to grow tired of the effort. The Pasha's people and the 
Manyuema are very fond of firing off their ammunition into 
the air, so as to deter the natives from attacking, and this kept 
up the noise — longer, perhaps, than it was really necessary. 

Stairs has very high fever to-night. 

May 18. — Stairs' temperature is normal this morning ; 
Jephson's is still high, and he is very poorly. On getting 
ready for the start, Nelson took charge of one ferry, and I 
managed the other. We had two canoes, and we, fortunately, 
were the only two Europeans who were not prostrated by 
sickness. We were hard at work getting the Expedition 
across the river — men, women, children, provisions, animals, 
&c, &c. — when, about 2 p.m., a party of Kabba Kega's Wara- 
Sura (sharp-shooters), with about fifty or sixty rifles, crept 
down close to us in the bush, and poured forth a volley at the 
canoes, without, however, injuring any one. The Zanzibaris 
immediately fell in, attacked them, and drove them away. 
Nelson pursued them, chasing them in all directions through 
the long grass for about a couple of hours. They had a 
standard-bearer with them. 

May 19. — At an early hour this morning, we recommenced 
the transport of our people and loads across the river. This 
was completed at about 9.30 a.m., when about 120 head of 
oxen were driven into the river and swam across. Nelson and 
I went across in the last canoe-trip, at 11 A.M.; Mr. Stanley 
had crossed at 8 a.m. We had made 185 trips across the river 
with the canoes : conveying 1168 human beings, and 610 loads 
— this was not bad work for a day and a half, as we had but 
three small canoes, each able to accommodate but six persons — 
in addition to the two pole-men. 



1889.] MAZAMBONTS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 431 

When all had reached the opposite side, the canoes were 
broken up ; the material helping in the formation of a boma 
around our new camp. Bonny found two doti (about seven 
yards each) of americani (calico) in one of the huts here, so 
that the natives must have communicated with the Arabs in 
some way. 

Mr. Stanley had some beef to-day, for the first time since 
leaving the Albert Nyanza. 

May 20. — We marched early this morning, and halted, after 
a march of five miles, in a village where there were plenty of 
bananas. I was sent off with a party, to find a road to the 
south, or a little to east of south. I did succeed in finding a 
tolerably good one, and returned about 4.30 a.m. The sole 
came off one of my boots on the way : I would now willingly 
give £200 for a good pair of boots, if both items of the bargain 
were forthcoming. On my return, Mr. Stanley presented me 
with a pair of scarlet breeches. 

Stairs and Jephson are now both doing fairly well. The 
latter takes thirty grains of quinine every morning and 
evening. It is very heavy marching this, along the Semliki 
valley, as the ground is very boggy and clamp. 

May 21. — I remained in camp all day to-day. Jephson's 
temperature has been normal since last night ; Captain Casati 
has a congested spleen, and Emin Pasha a colic. We weighed 
Jephson to-day : he made 132 lbs. ; fifty days ago — on the 
1st of April — he weighed 150 J- lbs. 

A boy came to us to-day offering to sell a knife; it had 
engraved on it the names of Alf and Alb Schnitzler, Soningen. 
The name is suo'2:estive of relatives of Emin Pasha. 

Jephson's temperature continues normal this evening. 

May 22. — Heavy rain fell in the early morning, till 
5 . 30 a.m. We marched at 6 a.m. We followed a line a little 
to the west of south, till 12.30: through bush and banana 
tongoni (deserted clearings). Nelson did not reach camp, as 
he was with the rear-guard. Very heavy rain fell in the 
afternoon. We camped in a village. Stairs is doing well, 
and is able to walk to-day. Jephson's temperature continues 
normal. Bonny had an attack of intermittent fever yesterday, 
but appears all right to-day. 

May 23. — Nelson did not reach camp last night, so Stairs 
left with his company this morning to bring up the rear-guard ; 



432 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

but Xelson just arrived as he was starting. We marched 
early, and stopped after three miles' progress through a very 
bad bush, which gave us great trouble. The rear of our 
column is some hours behind, and it is really very rough on 
Kelson and Stairs having to remain out — sometimes all night 
— to take care of the fugitives who are following the Pasha to 
the coast. Such perfect human rubbish I have never had an 
opportunity of observing before. 

We are now near the base of the Euwenzori range ; the bush 
•extends up its sides for a very considerable distance. 

Mat 24. — The anniversary of the Queen's birthday. Long 
may her gracious Majesty live ! She is well known to the 
Zanzibaris as " The Bebe " or mother, in honour of whom we 
have a holiday in camp to-day, and all our men are getting 
each a full ration of meat. It now takes ten cows to give all 
the members of our cumbrous expedition a ration. It was 
exactly on this day twelvemonth that we left the Pasha and 
Jephson at the lake, and that was the second visit ; it was 
only when a third visit had been paid them that the Pasha 
and a few of his people decided that they were of the opinion 
that, taking one consideration with another, their Equatorial 
lot was not a happy one, and they wished to come out to the 
•coast — possibly with some mental reservation. The Albert 
Nyanza was first reached on the 13th of December, 1887 ; 
in May, 1889 the Pasha and his people came away — so that 
we had spent a year and five months awaiting their pleasure 
to say whether they were to stay or go. Our own staying 
powers were pretty fully exercised in the interval. 

We are five miles from the base of the Euwenzori range, 
and have an excellent view from here of the snow-clad peaks. 

We marched early this morning, and had a good path 
through the forest till 8 . 30 A.M. ; when we reached a swamp. 
Having cleared this obstruction, we pitched camp in a village 
of sixty or seventy huts, built on the Unyoro plan — large and 
-circular, with conical roofs. 

May 25.— . . . . 

May 26. — We marched to-day over a very undulating 
-country, and halted to camp in the open, at 9.30 a.m. One 
of the Manyuema died on the road this morning. He had 
been suffering from pneumonia since the 19th. Also another 
Manyuema, who had been wounded behind the left shoulder 



1889.] MAZAMBONrS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 433 

with an iron arrow, when wandering about forty yards from 
camp. 

This part of the country is entirely covered over with 
enormous banana plantations — enough to feed an army corps 
for months. The natives can never manage to eat them all ; 
they make plenty of jponibe, which requires great quantities of 
ripe bananas. This is a very pleasant, cool, acid, non-intoxi- 
cating drink ; and very suitable to the uses of this climate : 
its manufacture consumes a large proportion of the bananas of 
these regions. 

Jephson's temperature has now been normal for some time, 
and he is picking up. Poor fellow ! he has lately been several 
times at death's door. Mr. Stanley continues to improve ; 
Stairs is also getting stronger. Nelson has improved wonder- 
fully since he has had meat. 

We got hold of a few natives to-day, but there is no one 
amongst us who can speak to them in their own language. 
This is a beautiful rich country ; the grass is short and green, 
and everything grows with such profusion. Our caravan is so 
large that Ave rarely shoot game, as they are frightened away. 

May 27. — We remained in camp all day. There is a 
beautiful view of the snow-clad peaks of the Kuwenzori range 
from here. It runs from north-east to south-west ; its southern 
extremity is now about twenty miles from us. The mountain 
side is covered with vegetation, to a height of about 10,000 
feet ; with a good many trees, and a rich growth of bush 
in places. It is fissured all over with ravines. The summit 
is nearly always covered with clouds except in the early 
morning — up to 6.30 a.m. — when the sun's heat begins to 
be strongly felt, and the moisture rises rapidly from the 
plains and valleys by evaporation. The district about the 
foot of the mountain is a very foggy one — not unlike what 
may very often be seen in the vicinity of Hyde Park Corner. 

My boy Muftah left my last remaining pair of good stockings 
behind in yesterday's cainj). I feel boiling over with wrath 
against him, but cannot do anything ; if I beat him, he 
immediately runs off to Mr. Stanley, who will probably appro- 
priate him ; if I bring him to Mr. Stanley myself, he will not 
punish him, but will perhaps give him a load to carry ; in 
either case, I shall probably get a " goee-goee " in exchange, 
for our chief is invariably predisposed to the black man. 

2 F 



434 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

The name of the place where we have camped to-day is Atoso. 
Enormous banana groves cover the face of the soil as far as 
the eye can reach. 

I studied a little botany with Emin Pasha to-day. He has 
identified the leaves with which the natives thatched their huts 
(and we ours) in the forest, as phrynium ramosissimum. We 
constantly apply to the Pasha to name certain plants, insects, 
birds or reptiles, and never have seen him hesitate to give a 
classical-sounding name, which seemed to have a proper scien- 
tific intonation — at least to those who know but little about 
such subjects. None of us are in a position to contradict him. 

May 28.— . . . . 

May 29. — We marched early to a small village, where we 
found an old man in feeble condition, whom we fed and 
set free. 

Great quantities of pumpkins grow here, the young leaves 
of which make a very good mboga (spinach). There are great 
numbers of bananas, as in every other district of this part of 
the country, and not many plantains. In Kiswahili the 
banana is called hipokuso, and the plantain ndesi. We are 
making very slow and short marches, compared with what we 
have been accustomed to ; so that the Pasha's people may not 
be rushed too much at first. 

May 30. — We started early, and marched till 11 a.m. 
Jephson, I am glad to say, was able to walk all the way. 
Stairs is now less troubled with pain. But Mr. Stanley has 
developed high fever, and is looking really badly ; he also still 
complains of that median abdominal pain below the umbilicus. 

Our new camp was on the outskirts of a very large banana 
plantation. Some of the men, accordingly, strayed off by 
themselves for food ; when one Manyuema presently returned 
with a tower-musket, and said that Kabba Rega's Wara-Sura, 
or sharp-shooters, were close by, and had fired on our 
men ; but that he had succeeded in killing one, and had now 
brought back his rifle. On hearing this news, Mr. Stanlev 
immediately blew his whistle, upon which all the companies 
immediately fell in. No. 1 Company, under Stairs, was at 
once dispatched to see who those people with the tower- 
muskets were, and to approach them quietly and cautiously ; 
as a native woman had already told us that the people located 
in this neighbourhood were Wangwana. No. 1 started along 



1889.] MAZAMBONFS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 435 

a path to the south-west, when they were suddenly fired upon 
by a party of Manyuema, belonging to Kilonga Longa. The 
wretches had concealed themselves in the grass. The volley 
killed one of our Manyuema, and mortally wounded Stairs' 
Zanzibari boy, Farragalah : who had saved Stairs' life many a 
time in the forest, by sharingl his food witli his master. The 
latter died at midnight, from the effects of his wounds. He had 
received two penetrating wounds through the right chest, and 
two through the right side of the abdomen. The upper 
abdominal wound was an inch and a half in length ; and a 
huge hernia rapidly protruded through it, covered by a fold 
of omentum. Fsecal matter escaped through the lower one. 
Both of the abdominal slugs had passed out behind — over 
the crest of the ilium. Four other men were also badly 
wounded : 

1. Uledi Saadi, of No. 1 Company. A slug penetrated the 
right arm behind, a little above the elbow-joint : fracturing 
the trochlear surface of the articular end of the humerus, 
comminuting the olecranon process and the whole of the 
greater sigmoid cavity, and tearing away a great part of the 
surrounding flesh. The ulnari artery and nerve were, fortu- 
nately, untouched. I resected vthe elbow-joint. He had still 
retained, after the injury, some'power of pronation and supina- 
tion, with some movements of the fingers. I used a solution of 
potassium permanganate as an antiseptic lotion, applied dress- 
ings and bandages, and put up^the joint in a slightly angular 
splint. 

[Had this man been a European I would have preferred 
amputation under the circumstances : but the Zanzibaris have 
such wonderful power of repair ofi wounds, that I hoped he 
would recover a fair use of the limb ; and the event j ustified 
the anticipation. He progressed most favourably, and with 
the greatest rapidity ; in 'six weeks he carried his box as 
before, and was able to use the right arm almost as fully as the 
other : moving it about in all directions, and touching the top 
of his head, and the opposite shoulder, without difficulty. So 
that both he and I had every reason to be gratified with the 
result.] 

2. Khamis Unyamwezi, of Xo. 1 Company. This man 
received a penetrating flesh wound in the left axilla ; also a 
large flesh wound of the inner side of the left arm, exposing — 

2 f 2 



436 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1880. 

but uot injuring — the brachial artery and veins, which could be 
seen pulsating within their sheaths. 

[This man made an excellent recovery under treatment.] 

3. Achmed Bin Sulieman. A flesh-wound of the right 
shoulder, and an abrasion of the left cheek. [Recovered.] 

4. Ali Nyadi, one of the boatmen. An abrasion of the fore- 
head : not dangerous. 

Several other men received small abrasions, mostly produced 
by unexploded gunpowder : all of whom were provided with 
dressings, and a " Livingstone rouser " each. 

While the fusilade was going on at that short distance, 
3Ir. Stanley ordered the officers and men who were in the 
camp, to hastily pile up the ammunition boxes and everything 
else we could lay hands on, so as to make a barricade, from 
behind which we could fire on the enemy with some effect. 
The shooting was very quick and sharp, so that we thought we 
had an active and [powerful enemy to deal with. Just as our 
wounded men were^being carried into camp, some of our men 
recognised the Manyuema, and shouted "cease fire ; " and the 
call had the desired effect, for the enemy saw at once that 
they had made a mistake. Some of them then came up to 
our camp, and we all recognised them at once as Kilonga 
Tonga's ruga-ruga. They were in search of ivory, and had 
mistaken us for Kabba Bega's Wara-Sura, and acted accordingly. 
After some hours about forty more of them arrived. Thev 
then brought in goats and sheep, as presents to 3Ir. Stanley ; 
who, in turn, offered a gift of two cows, and returned the tower- 
musket which had been taken. 

3Iay 31. — New moon to-day. About one hundred Many- 
uema visited our camp, and exchanged many things with our 
people — chickens, rice, cloth, &c, &c. 

June 1. — We again remained in camp to-day ; so that the 
people might prepare food for three days. All the wounded 
men have normal temperatures, and there is very little 
suppuration. I use the solution of potassium permanganate 
to the wounded surfaces, and boil the bandages before re- 
applying them ; there are so few that I cannot afford to throw 
away any, and many of those I have are made from old 
pyjamas and shirts. 

June 2. — We marched this morning at an early hour, and 
did about eight miles. Our way was through an open country 



1889.] MAZAMBONFS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 437 

till about 10 a.m., when we entered a dense bush ; in which we 
camped before penetrating very far. 

Alas ! the last leg of my last smart pair of pyjamas — which 
I was carefully keeping as a " banderrah " (flag) for my 
company, so that we might be able to make a respectably 
triumphant entry into Bagamoyo — has to-day been consigned 
to Hari's care, as dressing for the wounded. 

June 3. — We started at daybreak this morning, and 
marched till 10 a.m., when we halted for the day in a village. 
We travelled along a circuitous path ; which sometimes clipped 
into a ravine of 100 feet in depth, and with a steep — almost 
vertical — facing to be climbed on the opposite side. In these 
hollow places of our journey, many superfluous articles of 
baggage and rare collections of curios, were sacrificed for ever 
to the exigencies of the moment ; and irrecoverably lost to the 
calls of future comfort, and of future science, respectively. 
Then the path would turn in a direction leading along a ridge 
placed between two of these fissures, where in many places its 
breadth would dwindle down to a measurement of two feet ; 
and along which our voluminous expedition could advance 
with difficulty in single file. Progress was, under these circum- 
stances, necessarily slow. 

During the past few days we have crossed, or rather waded 
through, several mountain streams of considerable volume, 
and with water of the purest crystal, meandering along at a 
temperature of (usually) 61° F. 

Mr. Stanley had fever last night. Jephson is again down 
with fever — temperature 102° F. on yesterday, and higher to- 
day ; Nelson has a bad stomach-ache ; and the Pasna has had 
his shin badly barked. 

Stairs has been suffering from his ear, and came to me at 
1 a.m., this morning, to ask me to give him something to 
relieve the intense ear-ache, which entirely prevented his 
sleeping : syringing, however gently done, greatly increases 
the pain. 

We have now come to a slight bend in the mountain range ; 
up to the present, it ran to the south-west ; for the next couple 
of davs it will be almost due south. All the villages are 
deserted, probably on account of the fact that these detestable 
Manyuema are hovering about in the neighbourhood, seeking 
whom they may devour. 



438 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

June 4. — We marched early this morning, crossed a small 
river, and halted for the day (at 10 p.m.) in a small village. 

Jephson's temperature was 102° F. this morning ; in the 
evening it was 104°. Bonny is also in high fever to-day. 
Jephson will surely die if this attack is prolonged much 
further, and he is obliged to walk owing to the scarcity of carriers. 

June 5. — We did not advance to-day. 1 was sent off in 
one direction, with a party of twenty men, to try and find a 
road. Two other parties were also sent out, in other directions. 
I found a path leading to the west, and ending at some tem- 
porary shelters erected in the forest ; to which, I suppose, the 
frightened natives fly for refuge from their ruthless Arab pur- 
suers. I also found a track leading along the course of a river 
to the west. No. 1 Company — in another direction — found a 
very good road, leading along the base of the mountain. 

Jephson is very seedy to-day. 

June 6. — We marched at daybreak this morning ; and, 
after advancing five miles, halted close to a large banana 
plantation and broad fields of mohindi (Indian corn). 

June 7. — We halted in camp for the day. Stairs was sent 
up the mountain, to explore and report. The Pasha started 
off bug-hunting, but returned in the evening. 

Jephson's temperature went up to 106° F. last night. I am 
very anxious about him ; but he is full of pluck, which, in 
Africa, is worth a great deal more than medicine. There is a 
haze or mist everywhere, as far as the eye can reach. 

June 8. — I had a sharp attack of fever yesterday, which 
continues to-day. Indeed, we are now all cripples in the 
camp. There is bush everywhere all around, and no open 
plain to be seen in any direction. There are some hot springs 
close by ; the water has a temperature of 102°. 

Stairs returned from the mountains about 3 p.m. to-day, 
having ascended to an altitude of 11,900 feet. He brought 
back many of the familiar plants of temperate zones — eg. y 
heather, blackberry, violets, &c, &c. 

I feel deuced bad to-day ; my temperature has been at 105° F. 
since morning. 

Jephson's temperature has fallen a little. 

June 9-11.— . . . . 

June 12. — My fever still continues very high ; and, to 
add to my discomfort, my boy Muftah, whose tricks I had 



1889.] MAZAMBONrS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 439 

so often allowed to pass unpunished, has, true to his Zanzibar! 
instinct, embraced the favourable opportunity of running- 
away from me. The wretch always does this when I have 
fever ; he returns regularly when the fever is over. He 
knows well that any one down with African fever is always 
in a bad temper. He went to Mr. Stanley this time, in the 
hope of obtaining a reprieve, as he has. generally succeeded 
in doing in the past; but, to my surprise and gratification, 
Mr. Stanley asked me what I would like to give him. I 
promptly replied " a dozen," and he there and then received 
his " dozen," — all told — at the hands of Khamis Pari (formerly 
one of Livingstone's men). When sent back to me, the young- 
demon almost immediately ran off again ; but he will probably 
return and kiss my feet before night. 

For several days I have not been able to write, owing to^ 
the presence of a bad palmar abscess in the right hand, which 
Kelson opened for me yesterday. Yesterday we emerged from 
the bush, and had a splendid march through an open plain 
along the foot of the mountain range, the altitude of which is 
now gradually diminishing. Last evening, just at sunset, we 
had a glorious view of the snow-clad Euwenzori. 

The natives here have come into our camp, and made- 
friends with us ; bringing us presents of banana wine (pombe). 

Stairs left this morning with a party, to explore a river 
which is said to lie somewhere near this place. We are also 
informed that the Euta vel Muta Nzige Lake is not far distant.. 

June 13-15. — . . . . 

June 16. — -We again descended to the plain to-day; we- 
had for the last two days been crossing the elevation at the 
termination of the Euwenzori range. Mr. Stanley photo- 
graphed the snow-peak on the 13th ; we also had a superb 
view of it last evening. The Pasha and Mr. Stanley, who 
have always been good friends up to the present, had a row 
to-day, about making a company of the Pasha's men. The 
Pasha said, impatiently, " You had better leave me where I 
am, Mr. Stanley." The latter replied, " You can do as you 
like, Pasha ; you are a thankless, ungrateful man ! " The 
Pasha afterwards apologised. 

W r e caught about thirty head of cattle on our march here to- 
day. Muta Nzige, the third great African central lake, is now 
but a few hours distant. We anticipate some fighting to-morrow. 



440 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

Buskdi ErYendi, one of the Pasha's inen, was left behind by 

the Pasha's people yesterday. I had very bad fever on yester- 
day. Our camp for to-night is situated in a large circular 
enclosure, which contains a few large circular huts, into which 
the cattle are driven at night. Each hut has its floor quite 
covered with the manure they have manufactured. 

June 17. — We left camp at 6 a.m., and marched at a quick 
pace till 11.30 A.M. : when we reached a settlement, named 
Ivatwe. on the Muta Nzdge Lake. Situated a few hundred 
yards from its western margin is the salt lake of Mkiyo, 
which is surrounded on three-fourths of its circumference by 
steep slopes, that rise to the plateau, about 200 feet above 
the surface of the Lake. On the north-west side there is a 
very gradual rise. This lake does not possess any effluent 
stream; consequently its waters are. necessarily, extremely 
rich in saline matter. It is from this lake that the great 
quantities of pinkish crystalline salt slabs are taken which are 
bartered about all over the countries of Toro, L'nyampaka, 
Ankori, Alpororo, Kuanda, Ukonju, and many others. It is of 
very good quality, and supplies the inhabitants of an immensely 
large area. The lake is but a few feet in depth : the slabs 
of saline deposit are taken from the bottom, and carried away 
to be sold — in masses of various sizes. The water itself has a 
pinkish colour throughout : it is pure brine, and of a much 
higher sp. gr. than sea-water. The margin of the lake is strewn 
with dead butterflies, and animals that came to drink; its 
quality is evidently too strong for such casual visitors. There 
is no food growing in the vicinity — either animal or vegetable ; 
the people who inhabit the lake shores, accordingly, barter the 
salt for all the necessaries of life. The people who had been 
occupying the lake district just before our advent were usurpers 
of Kabba Eega's, who had driven out the rightful owners of the 
soil with the aid of their powder and slugs. They evidently 
did not relish the idea of our approach ; for they cleared out to 
a man, and did not wait to receive us. After a short interval, 
the former occupiers did approach our camp — in a squadron of 
twenty-two canoes ; they spoke with our men, but declined to 
land ; they have evidently had bitter experience of enterprising 
visitors. 

There are about six hundred huts here, and it appears to 
have been the great central market-place of the lake district. 



1889.] MAZA21B0XTS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 44L 

They are surrounded by a borna of euphorbia plants, which is 
neatly arranged, and looks very picturesque. We marched 
about sixteen miles to-day, and crossed only one river, which 
supplied us with drinking water. 

Stairs procured some canoes ; but as there is no food here, 
I suppose that the circumnavigation of the Lake Albert 
Edward (or Muta Xzige) from this point is impossible. AVe 
can see traces of numbers of cattle on the plain ; they have 
evidently been driven off by the natives. Mr. Stanley went 
in a canoe to a considerable distance on the lake, in order to 
make soundings. 

Juxe 18. — . . . . 

June 19. — I went down the salt lake this morning, accom- 
panied by the Pasha. The local name of the lake is Mkiyo. 
Its length i s a little over two miles ; its breadth about three- 
quarters. The temperature of the water we found to be 
78 -4 D F. (at 9.30 a.m.). The water is of a pinkish colour, and 
very high specific gravity ; it contains much more salt than 
sea- water. The natives collect large crusts, or cakes, of the 
salt from the bottom of the lake. The depth varies from 
one to two feet. The natives also collect salt by making salt- 
pans around the margins, from which the water is allowed to 
evaporate by exposure to the sun, leaving a layer of the salt 
behind ; it is deposited in strata : clear whitish crystals above, 
and pinkish below. 

We found one rivulet running into the lake ; this is 
at the southern extremity, and its waters have a highly 
sulphurous odour. It has also a sulphurous taste, and leaves 
a sulphurous deposit. There is no tinge of pink in this water. 
There is no effluent passing from the lake. The temperature 
of the water of this affluent stream we found at 84* 2° F. This 
lake has no connection with the 3Iuta Xzige ; it is on a much 
lower level, and separated by over half* a mile of solid earth 
not traversed by stream of any kind. There are two inhabited 
islands on the Albert Edward lake, close by our encampment : 
our present abode being situated between the lakes. The 
water of the Albert Edward is slightly brackish and muddy, 
but not so much so as that of the Albert Xyanza. The name 
of our encampment is Katwe. That of our last camp was 
Xyama-gazani. The temperature of the air over the lake- 
water this morning was 77° F. Great quantities of papyrus 



442 



EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 



grow round the margins of the Albert Edward Lake, but 
none round the salt lake of Mkiyo. On my return home 
I gave a specimen of the water of Mkiyo to Sir Charles 
Cameron, of Dublin ; to whom I am indebted for the following 
analysis. 

Composition of Pink Water Analysed for Dr. Parke, A.M.D. 

This water lias a light, but distinctly pink, colour, resembling that of a 
weak solution of potassium permanganate. It is very alkaline, and on being 
treated with acids effervesces strongly owing to disengagement of carbon 
dioxide gas. In warm weather it is quite clear, but during cold days in the 
winter, salts crystallize out from it. 

The specific gravity of this remarkable water is very high, namely, 1,274, 
water being 1,000. This gravity exceeds that of the water of the Dead Sea, 
which is 1,170, or thereabouts. 

The colour of this water is not due to any metallic or other inorganic 
matters. Under the microscope a small quantity of floating particles is seen : 
when by mere filtration through bibulous paper these suspended particles are 
removed, the water becomes colourless. The suspended matter is destroyed 
at a red heat, and appears to be altogether of vegetable origin. It consists 
chiefly of amorphous matter; but it also includes numerous globose cells, 
which I am disposed to think resemble somewhat the vegetable organism 
which sometimes imparts a red colour to snow. 

The quantity of solid matter dissolved in this water is very great, 100 parts 
yielded 30 '7 per cent, of dry inorganic matter, namely, in 100 parts of dry 
residue : 

Sodium sesquicarhonate . . . . 6*88 



Disodium carbonate 
Potassium chloride 
Sodium chloride . 
Sodium sulphate . 



11-84 

32-88 

38-65 

9-75 

100-00 



100 parts of the water contain, therefore, the following quantities of salts, 
giving to the crystallizable salts the molecules of water which they contain : — 

Sodium sesquicarhonate (Na 4 , H 2 , C 3 , 9 , 2 H 10 ) 
Disodium carbonate (Na 2 , C 3 , 10 H 2 0) . 
Potassium chloride (K CI) ..... 
Sodium chloride (Na, CI) ..... 
Disodium sulphate (Xa 2 , S 4 , 10 H 2 ()) . 

49-86 



Percentage constituents of the inorganic dissolved matter calculated as 
crystallized : — 

Sodium sesquicarhonate . . . . ■. 5 '83 

Disodium carbonate . . . . . .23*96 

Potassium chloride . . . . . 24 '65 

Sodium chloride 28*98 

Disodium sulphate . . . . . .16-58 



100-00 



1889.] MAZAMBONFS TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 443 

The water therefore consists of: — 

Water 50 -14 

Salts of sodium anil potassium . . . . 49*8(5 



100-00 



The occurrence of sodium sesquicarbonate in this water is interesting, as 
this salt is rarely met with. It has been found in the Province of Sakenna, 
two days' journey from Fezzan in Africa, and is there termed " trona." It has 
also been found at the bottom of a lake in Maracarbo, South. America, where 
it has received the name of " urao" and as an efflorescence near the Sweet 
River in the Rocky Mountains. 

All the salts in the pink water are valuable. 



4.th March, 1891.] 



Chaeles A. Cameron, 

Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin.] 



June 20. — We started at daybreak this rnornin* 
now in Usongora — after a few hours' march we enter the 
territory of Unyarnpaka. We marched eighteen and a half 
miles to-day, and reached another portion of the Albert Edward 
Lake, opposite a large island named Irangara. We had five 
hours' marching this morning before we reached water. 

This country must be very well stocked with cattle, as there 
are traces of the footprints of large droves of them to be met 
with in every direction. We are on the Equator again to-day. 

Kabba Eega's Wara-Sura in one raid captured several 
thousand head of cattle on this island of Irangara : the unfor- 
tunate natives, when chased by their plunderers, had driven 
their cattle to the island for refuge and safety ; the only result 
of which was that their live stock were all seized the more 
easily — at one fell swoop. We hear the lowing of large numbers 
of cattle going on in the island at the present moment. 

Close to where we halted to-day are some mud-walled huts 
of considerable thickness and strength ; we found some coloured 
pictures on the inside and outside of these walls — done in red, 
blue, brown, and some other tints — the first attempt at alfresco 
painting I have seen since I entered the depths of Africa. 

June 21. — After marching for four hours this morning, we 
approached a range of mountains running in a north-easterly 
direction. They are known to the natives by the name of the 
" Toro " hills. Mr. Stanley adapted our line of march to the 
direction of the mountain range, and encamped for the night 
about halfway between the foot of the mountain and the 



444 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

shore of the Albert Edward Nyanza. This lake seems to be 
plentifully stocked with islands. We saw herds of antelope 
about, a few giraffes, numbers of herons, storks, ducks, geese, 
kingfishers, some specimens of the sacred flamingo, &c, &c. ; 
but no article of diet immediately available has turned up on 
the road for the past four or five days. 

We captured a Wara-Sura spy here ; our present place 
of encampment had evidently been occupied by the Wara- 
Sura till yesterday. This name of Wara-Sura was originally 
applied, it appears, to Kabba Kega's body-guard ; as he in- 
creased in power, and became more aggressive, his guard 
gradually swelled to so large proportions, that he is now able 
to send detachments of it all over the districts of Toro, 
Unyampaka, Usongora, &c, &c, to attack the natives, and loot 
their villages. 

June 22. — We marched about ten or twelve miles this 
morning ; and, about 10.30 a.m., as we were defiling through a 
pass, the sides of which were decorated with some lofty canes, 
and the vanguard was in the act of crossing the Rukoki river, 
we were attacked by the Wara-Sura, who fired a volley out of 
their covert in the dense brake, where they lay in ambush. 
It was aimed, of course, at the leaders of our long file. After 
delivering themselves of this warlike salute, they immediately 
took to their heels. Our Wahuma guides, twelve in number, 
were in front ; then followed our flag — with the star and crescent 
— with four Zanzibaris ; then myself, as I was in advance with 
the skirmishers. Most of the men dropped their loads, and ran 
directly back " in blue funk," making a regular stampede. They 
carried me backwards too, in the violence of the rush, through 
the narrow path ; but in a little time I was able to get a few of 
them steady, and managed to send five or six skirmishers for- 
ward. I then went to Mr. Stanley, who was in front of the 
column ; he gave me six men to pick up the loads which had 
been thrown on the path, and which might easily have been 
appropriated by the Wara-Sura, had the latter had the courage 
to follow up their advantage : he also sent on No. 1 Company 
under me, and No. 2 Company following under Jephson. The 
latter and myself, having got the companies clear of those men 
in front, quickened our pace, and ran on for a couple of miles 
in pursuit of the Wara-Sura. We then came upon two camps 
which had just been deserted ; the flying Wara-Sura had set 



1889.] MAZAMB0N1S TO ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA. 445 

the huts on fire before clearing out, and they were blazing 
away vigorously. We did not succeed in catching any person, 
as they escaped in the long grass, and were permitted to enjoy 
the view as they hastily climbed the hills in the distance. 
Our men picked up bananas, beans, and tulabone flour in the 
deserted camp. One or two huts of the latter were surrounded 
by a very strong euphorbia boma. One hut was built in the 
shape of an ottoman, and was coloured all over with red, white, 
blue, and black spots. We camped in a large banana planta- 
tion for the night ; the men were directed to prepare provisions 
to last for six days (bananas and Indian corn). 

June 23. — Our guides leave us here ; they are Wahuma, 
and have accompanied us from the place where the natives of 
their tribe first entered into the bond of friendship with us. 
We rest in camp to-day and to-morrow ; Nelson has gone off 
to-day with his company, to hunt up the Wara-Sura. 

The water of this lake is very unpleasant to drink. The 
shores are all covered with ambash wood ; with very tall reeds, 
and papyrus. 

June 24. — We rest in camp to-day, and are preparing a 
supply of food for seven days. Saadi Mpsa of No. 2 Company 
died to-day. He had suffered from bad remittent fever for six 
or seven days ; then he got double pneumonia, a complication 
which, in his weakened condition, he was, of course, entirely 
unable to battle against ; so he died in about thirty hours. 
The shores of this lake are, certainly, extremely malarious ; 
about one-third of the entire caravan is down with fever at the 
present moment, including my little Monbuttu, who has con- 
stantly suffered from intensely high fever since she left the 
shady forest, and became exposed to the hot sun on the 
plains. 

June 25. — We marched about fourteen miles to-day, and 
crossed five large rivers on the way. We passed round an inlet 
of the lake, and camped in the bush. Our water supply here 
had to be drawn from stagnant pools ; and looked like coffee, 
from the amount of suspended mud which it contained. No 
wonder that we have so much malarial fever amongst us ! The 
water of the lake is entirely undrinkable. 

I got within thirty yards of an elephant to-day. 
June 26. — We marched early this morning. At 7.45 a.m. 
we passed a large river. At 9.30 we encountered another 



446 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

detachment of the .Wara-Sura ; who, as usual, fired a volley at 
us, and then ran. 

My tent did not arrive last night till 8 p.m., and to-night it 
has not eonie at all. The man who looks after it is sick. 
I have had fever to-day. Yusuf Effendi died to-day. My 
little pigmy is one of the best of nurses, and would be 
invaluable as attendant to anyone who had no optic or olfactory 
organs. We have all seen so much of her that we can speak 
from experience. 

June 27. — We remained in camp to-clay. Jephson and 
myself are on our backs, with high fever ; Nelson, accompanied 
by a native guide, went out to find a road ; Stairs was sent 
back to hurry up the stragglers. The latter found my 
Manyuema carrier — in charge of my tent — sound asleep at our 
last camp. A few of the Pasha's people were found lying on 
the path, who had been speared to death. An enormous 
amount of fever still in camp. 

June 28. — This country is very thinly populated ; there are 
few cattle to eat down the grass, which, indeed, has now 
developed into a cane-like growth of such a coarseness and 
strength, as would severely tax the masticatory powers of any 
member of the ox tribe. 

We started at 6.30 a.m., marched over a very hilly hollow 
country, and halted close to a river of fairly clear water — the 
only fair imitation of aqua jpura which we have had the chance 
of utilising for many days. A large proportion of our caravan 
is still, indeed, suffering from the effects of imbibition of 
the contents of the detestable pools of these regions. 

Mr. Stanley himself has very high fever to-day. 

June 29. — We marched to-day from early morning till 
10.15 a.m., and then halted in a banana plantation. Mr. Stanley's 
temperature is extremely high to-day ; Stairs, Jephson, and 
Bonny are also prostrated by the prevailing disorder; and 
a very large proportion of our men are entirely unable to 
carry their loads from this horrid fever, whose presence weighs 
us all down. Every man's tongue is coated with a white fur, 
even if he has not an elevated temperature. Emin Pasha's 
temperature is now normal, but he has still the white tongue. 

Food is quite plentiful here. 

June 30. — Mr. Stanley's temperature is very high to-day ; 
it is also keeping its elevation, and there is no attempt at 



1889.] MAZAMBONTS TO ALBERT EDWABD NYANZA. 447 

perspiration. As the day advanced, I became anxious, and 
gave him a hypodermic injection of pilocarpine. He soon 
after commenced to perspire profusely, and this continued till 
he was thoroughly drenched ; he then became quite cool. 
Bonny also is very feverish to-day. A great number of the 
men have fever. 

The natives came into our camp here, and made friends with 
us. They carry bows of five feet in length, and arrows of 
proportional dimensions. We are still in the Toro district. 

My last fowl was stolen to-day — by our Zanzibari cook, Ali 
Bin Said. 

July 1. — We marched but a few miles to-day, and camped 
close to the lake. A splendid expanse of water lay before us, 
as far as the eye could reach : there is nearly always a haze or 
mist, of some degree of density, hanging over and around this 
lake. The water is brackish to the taste; and, as far as we can 
see, is nearly covered over with floating pieces of vegetation. 

We are now in Unyainpaka again. We are at present 
near Mr. Stanley's old camp — the furthest point to which he 
penetrated after leaving Uganda in January, 1876. For the 
last two days the natives have been quite friendly to us. 

The men are to prepare a supply of food for several days 
before leaving this place. There is a range of hills stretching 
along within a couple of miles of the lake ; their altitude 
would be about 800 feet. 

Mr. Stanley is again down with fever, his temperature is 
104° F. this evening. The amount of fever among the men 
is diminishing. I filled to-day all the quinine bottles belong- 
ing to the officers of the Expedition : this is necessary, as 
they are often away from me for a couple of days at a time ; 
and their already large experience of malarial fever has 
taught them, very accurately, when and how to take the 
medicine. This ounce bottle must do for each till we reach 
Zanzibar, as there is no more quinine left. 

July 2. — We rested all day in camp, on account of the 
enormous number of cases of fever among our men. Mr. 
Stanley has now quite recovered from his last attack. The 
natives are visiting us, in friendly batches of twenty or thirty 
each. The king, Bulemo-Kuigi, was to have come to call on 
us to-day, but has not yet arrived. 

The moon is now four days old. 



448 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

July 3. — We started early this morning, and after marching 
about six miles in a southerly direction, entered the country 
of Ankori ; where we camped on the brink of the lake, in the 
Katari settlement. We were now obliged to drink the lake 
water, as there was no other source of supply discoverable 
within reach — nothing near us, even in the shape of a muddy 
stream, or a stagnant pool. Ever since we met the Wara- 
Sura — clays before the native guides left us — we have been 
meandering along a low ground-level : but about ten feet above 
that of the lake water. This low altitude, together with the 
wretched water supply, has supplied the enormous number of 
fever cases with which I have had to deal within so short a 
space of time. 

A great number of natives have come into our camp to-day 
on a friendly visit. 



( 440 ) 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AND KARAGWE. 

Decision as to our future route — Friendly assistance rendered by the natives 
in carrying loads — We wait King Antari's pleasure at a small village — 
Loss of some of my clothes — Native customs — Presents of goats and 
guides from King Antari — Several members of the expedition prostrate 
with fever — Symptoms of an attack of fever — Some pupils of the late 
Mr. Mackay of the C.M.S. visit us — Their information regarding the 
latest events in Uganda — The cause of African fever — A few of the 
Pasha's people drop out of the caravan through sickness — The detestable 
" yellow-bellies " — Our progress obstructed by a large papyrus quagmire 
— Carelessness of the Zanzibaris with their rifles — Immunity of our men 
from sunstroke — We experience sharp alternations of temperature — 
Large herds of cattle — Stinginess of the natives — Another case of sun- 
stroke — Theft of rifles by the natives — Fever among the white officers — 
Yisit from the young prince of Ankori — Ophthalmia among our men — 
Native coffee — Bonny's condition — We transport the caravan across the 
Alexandra Nile — Murder of a Manyuema woman — Description of the 
Hot Springs at Mtagata — I take a thermal bath — Death of one of 
Kibbo-bora's wives — My opinion of Manyuema men and women — I am 
obliged to leave my pigmy woman with some friendly natives — Her 
parting casts a gloom over the camp — The deserted settlement of Kafurro 
— Yisit from one of Speke and Grant's men — Message from the boy king 
of Karagwe — Jephson pays his respects to the latter — Bargain making 
with the king — Karagwe an uninteresting country — The coldest day 
experienced by me in Africa — After a rough march, we arrive at Lake 
Urigi. 

July 4. — Last night, Mr. Stanley called us white officers to 
his tent, and explained to us that he had heard from the 
natives that Antari, King of Ankori, had had a supply of 
guns given him by the Waganda, as he had become subject to 
AEtesa., late king of the latter country. Also, by passing in 
this direction, we would have to pass through Karagwe, a 
powerful Uganda territory. These considerations must make 
us cautious, and may, perhaps, oblige us to change our plans. 
There are now four ways open : — 

1. Go bacdv to the bush, and come out at Ujiji. 

2. Through the warlike Euan da territory, occupied by a 
powerful tribe, who have a queen on the throne. 

3. To pass to the west of Uganda. 

2 u 



450 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

4. Through Ankori and Karagwe. 

It was decided to adopt the latter course, as the most 
desirable route upon the whole, if not quite the shortest. If 
we met with too much obstruction on the way, we would then 
strike the Uganda road, and turn southward to the Alexandra 
Nile. 

We made a long march to-day, and found the natives quite 
amicable on the way. We were, of course, obstructed by the 
fact that considerably more than a fourth of our people are 
now suffering from high fever, and groan and wriggle about 
as they slowly drag their flabby limbs along. I am one of 
the unhappy number myself; and the pigmies suffer more 
than any of us. 

The friendly natives here often come up to us on the path, 
and volunteer to carry some of the loads for short distances. 
My boy gave one of them some of my things to carry as we 
were on the march to-day ; I am made somewhat anxious by 
the fact that he has not come into camp to-night. The 
carriers, who work in this way by voluntary contribution, are 
known as Jcanuan in Kiswakili. 

July 5. — I was with the advance guard to-day. We had 
not proceeded far on our route when we were accosted by a 
chief, who had with him about a dozen attendants ; he told us 
that we must stop where we were till he sent word to the 
king informing him of our approach, as this was their custom. 
Accordingly, anxious as we were to stand well with his 
majesty of Ankori, we immediately brought the whole caravan 
to a respectful stand-still. After an hour's shauri we were 
permitted to march, escorted by the chief and his attendants, 
till we reached a small village, consisting of a few huts : at 
which we are to remain till the king's pleasure concerning us 
is made known. 

My kanuan (voluntary native carrier) has not come into 
camp to-day either, so that another load is gone ! But, from 
long experience, I have come to the conclusion that in 
travelling near the Equator it is no great disadvantage to lose 
one's clothes ; for when they are gone, all anxiety has departed 
with them, and there is no critical society to discuss the 
presentability of one's appearance, or gossiping journals to 
record what was worn at last evening's conversazione. What 
is more to the purpose is that my fever is very high to-day. 



1889.] MABCII THROUGH ANEORI AND EAR AG WE 451 

The country here is abominably hilly, and wearisome to 
march over. The natives all wear cloth — an inferior kind 
of brown calico. 

July 6. — Mr. Stanley told me to-day that we had passed 
Mount Edwin Arnold some days ago, and Mount Lawson on 
yesterday. The natives are very friendly here, and brought 
in plenty of food ; which they sold to our peop] e for clothes, 
beads, cowries, and ornaments of various kinds that they have 
picked up on the march. The purchase of a goat is effected 
by the exchange of one doti (twelve yards) of inferior calico. 
The natives are very keen in the acquisition of cloth — also of 
gunpowder ; they do not, however, like so many of the Central 
African tribes, care very much for beads or cowries. 

The Pasha, Jephson, and myself, have been consuming with 
high fever to-day. 

July 7. — We remained in camp all to-day (Sunday). Did 
nothing particular. 

July 8. — The messengers have returned from King Antari, 
whose palace — or mansion, or kraal, or straw hut — is located at 
a distance of a couple of days' march from here. They say 
that the king is a " boy " of about twenty-seven years old ; 
and that he is at present away (with his royal household) 
at Kuancla ; but his mother sends her compliments to us, and 
says that, as she understands that we are good people, and 
has received a favourable report of our disposition and 
movements, she will send us some guides, accompanied by 
a present of a few goats and a couple of cows — to meet 
us at the Alexandra Nile. Personally, I believe, that all 
this " blarney " is due to the fact that they have been 
frightened by the size of our caravan, and are anxious to get 
rid of us as rapidly as possible; and that, actuated by this 
(for us) wholesome awe, they have manufactured the story 
about the king's pilgrimage to Kuanda. The ambassadors are 
so polite, and say such nice things, that one would think 
indulgent nature had placed within their reach for the 
occasion a specimen of that celebrated mineral, lingual 
contact with which is generally believed to inspire so large 
an amount of Southern Irish eloquence. 

I see that some of the natives here have got old tower 
muskets ; which were, of course, brought up to this place by 
Arab traders. One of these muskets — purchased at the 

2 G 2 



452 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

coast for the sum of one dollar would, in bygone days, have 
been exchanged in this region for about £60 worth of 
ivory. Several members of the Expedition have not yet 
reached camp ; when they get fever, they immediately 
prostrate themselves on the ground, and seem greatly dis- 
appointed if they don't die. Their action under the circum- 
stances presents a really curious contrast to that of the white 
man: who uses every remnant of energy that he has got to 
bring him up to camp for the night, and is again ready to 
start next morning. Of the thirteen Somalis who started with 
us, we have now but one left; while of the thirteen Europeans, 
but one has died. Now, neither Somalis nor Nubians have 
been obliged to carry loads — except in way of punishment; 
they have exactly the same food as the whites ; and not more 
physical work to perform — if indeed so much. This tropical 
climate, excepting the marshy districts, and those where water 
supply is deficient, is certainly good enough for any white 
man ; and, taking one season with another, is certainly a more 
enjoyable one than that of England. 

We are remaining in camjD here all day. We have plenty 
of bananas. Stairs has high fever to-day. We have all of us 
now become quite familiar with the prodromatory symptoms of 
an attack ; the affected individual becomes extremely talkative, 
as the mental powers become very active — and develops a great 
air of independence. The eyes become bright and glassy, the 
hair soon becomes dishevelled, and one quickly passes into a 
very bad temper, &c, &c. 

July 9. — We started early this morning, and marched till 
11 a.m. ; when we halted at a small village, consisting of a few 
huts, and with some bananas growing near. Shortly after our 
arrival, some six or eight Swahili-speaking individuals came 
in. They were very respectable looking, well clad, and could 
read their prayers in Swahili. They informed us that one 
and a-half years ago the Waganda had deposed their King 
Mwanga, the eldest son of Mtesa, the last king — and con- 
sequently, hereditary heir to the throne ; and that he now 
lives on an island in the Victoria Nyanza, supported 
principally by Christians, with a certain proportion of the 
Waganda, his former subjects. The Katekiro (prime minister) 
had been killed in the revolt. Karema, a younger brother of 
3I\vanga, now reigns in his stead. Mwanga's morals are said 



1889.] MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AND KARAGWE. 453 

to be by no means of an exemplary type ; be is also said to 
dislike the Arabs, as the Arab traders all support Karema. 
All traders and missionaries bad to fly from Uganda at the 
time of the rebellion ; about 2,000 of the refugees came into 
the Ankori territory, and our present visitors were of the 
number. They had formerly been pupils of Mackay — of the 
Church Missionary Society — and they know how to write the 
Swahili language freely : as well as speak it, read it, and pray 
in it. They are very superior men. 

This day's march was an exceedingly laborious one; the 
country being very hilly. Heri, one of the Pasha's people,, 
died of fever to-day. The reason why the fever clings so to 
us still in these hilly, non-marshy districts, is the exposure to 
the chilly blasts which we meet as we go down-hill. In 
ascending these laborious elevations, the men sweat and groan 
continuously from fatigue, under the exposure to the direct 
rays of the burning sun. When the summit has been sur- 
mounted, and the descent commenced, with the subsidence of 
the physical exertion, the cool blasts which are always whirling 
around the hills bring on an immediate chill ; and my ex- 
perience of African travel in this connection is that the 
smallest draught of cold air, after exposure to great heat, 
never fails to bring on a paroxysm of fever. When these 
uncalled-for breezes come up from shaded, swampy ravines, 
there is, of course, an additional factor introduced for the 
manufacture of pyrexia. 

July 10. — My tent did not arrive till 10 p.m. last night ; so 
I lay all night by the fire, in the open. Two of the Pasha's 
people remained behind in camp to-day : they were unable to- 
march — or, at least, they said so — from the exhaustion produced 
by extensive ulcers. Their names are Abdul Wahid Effendi, 
and Ibrahim Telbass ; their families — women, servants, and 
children — remained behind with them. They get plenty of 
food here, and, indeed, are so lazy that they seemed glad to have 
some serious excuse to drop off from our caravan. As they 
include a goodly number of worthless persons, we will move 
more lightly and freely without them. All the Pasha's men 
are polygamists. Many of the native Swahili-speaking people 
express a wish to accompany us to the coast. 

The Pasha is down with fever to-day : his temperature is 
104 D F. this evening. Casati has also high fever. Songora 



454 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

Baraka, from whom I extracted a tooth the other day, has got 
" Bell's palsy," partially developed ; the ptosis is well-marked, 
and he also has slight aphasia — a sort of sequela of very high 
fever, from which he has been suffering. He was one of our 
strongest men ; and did, I suspect, get an attack of sunstroke 
— superimposed on his fever. 

This is a fearfully hilly country, and our men have most 
difficult work in carrying their loads up hill and down dale. 
The dragging along of the Pasha's people, with their women 
and children, is dreadfully slow work, especially in convey- 
ing them over the hills. I am glad we have got rid of 
Ibrahim Efiendi and his harem now ! I wish many others 
would follow his example ; now that they have come among 
friendly people. He is not so ill as that he could not march, 
so he evidently wishes to reside in this part of the country. 
The Pasha's people have lost many children by wild beasts 
(mostly hyenas) carrying them away at night. 

July 11. — We made but a short march to-day. Farragalah 
Abdullah, one of our Nubians, has not arrived in camp 
to-night ; he has a Remington rifle with him. 

July 12. — The thick-lipped, broad-nosed women-servants 
of the Pasha's people are really the best of the vile crew ; 
they carry their masters in hammocks on the march, go off and 
fetch food, cook it, wash, and do all the hard work ; while these 
detestable "yellow-bellies" (a local appellation for Egyptians) 
lie (or sit) at their ease — smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee 
made from hibiscus nut, and doing endless talking. There 
are a few Coptic (white) women, one or two of whom had 
been notorious in Khartoum ; which possessed a great deal 
of questionable propriety in its recent years of excitement. 
3Iany of the Pasha's people are fanatical Mohammedans ; they 
are constantly muttering their prayers, and devoted to reading 
the Koran ; each keeps on passing a string of beads con- 
tinuously through his hands. 

We marched to a village where we were fortunate enough 
to find plenty of food, including some excellent dried peas ; 
and also a small quantity of butter. Our guides left us 
here. 

Songora Baraka died to-day; his paralysis had gradually 
grown worse, his mental functions failed, and he passed by 
degrees into a state of complete coma and general paralysis. 



1889.] MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AND KARAGWE. 455 

He had evidently had a sunstroke. Death was accelerated 
by paralysis of the muscles of respiration. This is our first 
case of sunstroke since we left the Albert Nyanza. 

July 13. — We marched till 11.30 a.m. to-day, and met 
with a great obstruction to our progress, in the form of a large 
papyrus quagmire, in which we lost twenty-six cows, and 
eight or nine goats. We had great difficulty in getting 
through it ourselves. The papyrus is very abundant in the 
swamps of this part of the country, and grows in enormous 
quantities around the shores of the Albert Edward Kyanza. It 
appears to form a jungle growth in marshy districts generally, 
here ; and this swamp which robbed us of so many valuable 
cattle to-day, appears to have been originally meant for a 
river, and bears the name of Bwizi. 

On arrival in camp, the Zanzibaris went off to explore 
among the native huts. On coming back, they informed us 
that they had gone into one of the huts in which the natives 
had offered them milk to drink ; they had left their rifles 
standing outside the door, and some one came up and fired off a 
few shots — killing two natives in the experiment ! Two rifles 
were lost in the alarm which followed. The whole district 
was roused ; Stairs was sent off in one direction, Jephson in 
another, and I was sent to recover the two lost rifles : which I 
succeeded in doing without firing a shot — through the assist- 
ance of a native who volunteered to recover them for me, and 
kept his engagement. The two men who had lost their 
rifles, and also their comrades who had accompanied them, 
were punished for having strayed away without permission. 

Bonny is down with high fever; there are a good many 
cases of it among the men. Another man has got a sunstroke, 
and is developing exactly the same series of symptoms as 
did the man who died yesterday. He has extremely high 
temperature, is developing paralysis of his limbs, and slight 
aphasia is beginning to show itself. These are the first cases 
of sunstroke I have seen since we found Emin Pasha. I have 
no doubt that the remarkable immunity of our men from 
sunstroke can be partially credited to the fact that the heads 
of the carriers were always protected by their loads during the 
march ; but I do not by any means think that their safety was 
altogether due to this. As a matter of fact, I have seen more 
cases of sunstroke in one day at Aldershot, than I have ever 



456 EXPEEIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

met with in the whole course of my seven years' African ex- 
perience, including the Egyptian war of 1882, and the Nile 
Campaign of 1884-85 — although in the latter I went as far 
south as Metammeh — within sixty miles or so of Khartoum. 
Brink is certainly the most powerful predisposing cause of 
the development of the symptoms of sunstroke. 

Amongst these hills there is a difference of 20° F. between 
the temperature of day and night, and as the men have not 
always materials at hand to construct huts for their shelter 
during the night, they are obliged to sleep on the cold ground, 
and exposed to a really bitter chill, which reminds me of our 
experience on reaching the Nile at the termination of the 
Desert March for Gordon's relief: the nights then were 
extremely cold, although the heat during the day was exces- 
sive, while the nights spent in the desert had never felt chilly 
until we came near to the waters of the Nile. I attribute to 
these sharp alternations of temperature — and the consequent 
disorders of circulation, a strongly predisposing action in 
the production of these peases of insolation, hitherto almost 
unknown to the Expedition. 

There are thousands ofjlcattle roaming over this region: 
they present a great variety of colours, and the full-grown 
ones are usually about the size of an English " three-year-old." 
They nearly all have the hump over the shoulders. We met 
large herds of them, at intervals of a couple of miles or so, 
grazing near our path. 

Nelson and Stairs were sent back to-day, to fetch the meat 
that had been left yesterday. There is little or no firewood to 
be found anywhere in these parts, and we are obliged to make 
shift with the stalks of the matammah as fuel. The result is 
that we all suffer a good deal from the nocturnal chill. 

The natives, although friendly, are very stingy with us. 
There are so many thousands of cattle about in all directions, 
yet they will not bring us a scrap of either milk or butter : not 
even to sell. We are now on a plateau, which is a great 
comfort after the hills ; as there are no gusts of cold air, to 
whirl round the corners, and give us a chill and fever. The 
valleys are always much colder than the hills : as the heavy, cold 
air remains below till ^the sun has reached a sufficiently high 
altitude to warm it by[its*radiation, when it ascends in chilling 
currents. The air on the plateau is (thank Providence !) uni- 



1889.] MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AND KARAGWE. 457 

formly heated ; so that our cases of chills and consequent fever 
are rapidly diminishing. Besides, in the hilly and swampy 
country which we have recently been crossing, we were 
obliged to drink water from the stagnant, papyrus-grown 
swamps ; which, in itself, was quite enough to sicken any one, 
and give him fever. We did our best to neutralise the poison - 
ous qualities of this water by always boiling at night a supply 
for our water-bottles on the following day. 

My second case of sunstroke, Khamis Nasebo, died last 
night : he had developed paralysis, and passed gradually into 
a state of complete coma. 

The Swahili-speaking Uganda visitors returned to King 
Antari yesterday. 

July 14. — We made a long march to-day, and reached a 
chain of barren hills, at the bottom of which was a very large 
settlement which we occupied. The natives seemed disposed 
to take the upper hand, for they seized Fundi Said's rifle on 
his coming into the village ; they, however, were afterwards 
gracious enough to return it. There are plenty of bananas 
here ; also some wenibi, a grain like matammah, but much 
smaller in size. 

July 15. — We remained in camp all day ; as we are pre- 
paring seven days' food, to fortify ourselves with before Ave 
recommence our journey. We expect at the end of three of 
these days to have reached the Alexandra Nile ; we will spend 
two days in passing it ; and we hope in seven more days to have 
reached the King's capital, where we will be able to purchase 
food. 

I had a very severe attack of fever yesterday, and another 
to-day. Jephson's temperature is over 105° F. this evening. 

Mr. Stanley punished several of the Zanzibaris to-day for 
stealing from the natives. 

July 16. — We again remain in camp to-day ; we must be 
cautious in our peregrinations here, as some of the Pasha's 
people have had their rifles stolen by the natives, and one of 
them has received a thrust from a native spear. Mr. Stanley 
received a visit to-day from a cousin of His Majesty King 
Antari : he is a very skinny individual. He wears a strip of 
red calico, which covers his shoulders and loins. 

I was slightly better this morning. Jephson's temperature 
is still high (105° F. this evening). 



-±58 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

July 17. — We inarched along — over high hills and through 
deep valleys — till 11.30 a.m. All our rifles have been re- 
covered ; so that the natives are not so vicious as we were 
beginning to fear. We camped in a large banana plantation, 
where all the men can make huts. There is a great deal of 
fever again prevailing — these hilly regions always do it. 

July 18. — We remained in camp all day. The natives 
bring goats, fowls, sweet potatoes, &c, &c, to sell ; but will 
only take cloth in exchange, and we have little or none to 
give — so there is no bargain. 

Omar, a chief, who was sent to the capital, has now re- 
turned, and gratified us by informing us that we could have 
come a shorter and a better road. 

July 19. — We remained in camp all clay. Mr. Stanley, 
Stairs, and the Pasha are all down with fever at present ; the 
Pasha's temperature is 103° F. this evening. Two princes of 
the blood-royal, sons of His Majesty King Antari, are expected 
here to-day : we are naturally thrilled with the prospect. 

July 20. — Some Wanyamwezi, who had come from the 
capital, say that the Germans have bombarded Bagamoyo, as 
one of their subjects was killed. 

Mr. Stanley, the Pasha, and Stairs have all recovered from 
the fever, and Bonny is taking a turn of it now. Nelson has 
had very much less fever than any of us, as he carefully carries 
out the prophylactic treatment already alluded to. 

I purchased two fowls to-day, for two spoonfuls of beads. 
We remained in camp all day, but our hopes of seeing the 
king's sons have, up to the present, been deferred. 

July 21. — On leaving camp this morning, three of the 
Pasha's people expressed their desire to remain behind, and 
were allowed to act accordingly. They excused themselves 
from proceeding further, on the plea that they were suffering 
from ulcers ; laziness, and the neighbourhood of plenty, were, 
I have no doubt whatever, the real reasons of their stay. 

Some children who were left behind by the Pasha's people 
were at once seized by the natives — not for cannibalistic pur- 
poses, as these people are not cannibals — but as a variety of 
adoption which is sometimes called slavery : a substantive 
which, being interpreted, means that the individuals concerned 
have to work for their food ; domestics under these conditions 
are otherwise well treated. 



1889.] MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AND KARAGWK 459 

July 22. — We marched early; and camped in a large 
banana plantation. Shortly after our advent the young prince 
arrived, borne on the shoulders of his valet, with his legs 
hano-ino* down, one on either side of the neck of the latter. 
He was brought to Mr. Stanley's tent, where a large crowd 
had gathered to see him. He is a rather nice-looking lad, of 
about fourteen years old. 

The huts which we slept in at last night's camp were alive 
with rats, bugs, fleas, &c, &c, so that we turned out in the 
morning like boiled lobsters, our invariable condition after 
sleeping a night in the native huts. The rats have a playful 
way of dropping from the ceiling, occasionally right on to 
one's nose. The people are very loyal to their king. 

We have a splendid supply of bananas here. 

July 23. — This morning was occupied by the performance 
of the ceremony of blood-brotherhood between the royal prince 
and Mr. Stanley. The sanguineous scratch was on the arm 
in their case ; two volleys were fired by No. 1 Company, three 
cheers were delivered, and the action of the Maxim gun was 
displayed. Our chief should certainly by this time have an 
exceptionally select supply of blood in his veins, for it would 
be difficult — for himself even — to enumerate the quantity of 
kings, princes, and sultans with whom he has performed the 
rite of " blood-brotherhood." I am not aware that he has 
ever performed a similar blend of friendships with any queen 
or princess of the royal bloods of Africa, although he might 
have been inoculated with some of the vital fluid of the fair 
sex had he elected to pass through Kuanda. 

There are great numbers of tomatoes here, very excellent 
in quality, although rather small in size. 

July 24. — We marched about six miles to-day, and reached 
a, banana plantation, where we camped. We have also good 
water to drink here. Khamis's boy hid himself in the grass 
on the march, and, thereby escaping our rear-guard, was lost 
to our caravan. I suppose he has now been appropriated by 
the natives. We have had a good deal of ophthalmia among 
our men ; my own right eye is perfectly blind from it. It is 
most serious, as there is no malady more thoroughly disables 
a, man on the battle-field, or in a hostile country, than this ; 
it leaves one perfectly helpless. 

The natives grow coffee here, and have already sold us 



460 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

some in the shell ; it is, however, a very expensive luxury, 
for they ask as much as fifteen "cowries per handful. We 
crushed the coffee-shells in a mortar, and then toasted the beans 
over a fire : they made us very excellent coffee indeed. 

We whites are all, more or less, under the influence of fever 
at present. Bonny has more conrplaints than Jenner could 
master : from the crown of his head down to the least present- 
able part of his body, every spot has a special series of 
symptoms of its own, and a history attached thereto. He is 
himself an empirical doctor ; he tells me he cannot eat, drink, 
sleep, &c, &c, and wishes me to give him some caffein or a 
" starvation tabloid." He has not yet thoroughly recovered those 
dreadful clays of absolute starvation on the banks of the Ituri, 
where he came near leaving his bones amongst those of his 
black companions, as a monument of devotion to his duty. 

July 25. — We marched till noon, when we reached the 
Alexandra Nile ; it is at this place broader than the Semliki 
Eiver (about 100 yards), but has a much more rapid current, 
and is somewhat deeper — about 5J feet in depth at mid-stream. 

After reaching camp, the Manyuema who carried my tent 
returned to fetch his wife, who was ill, and following along 
slowly ; he did not, however, return to camp — both he and his 
wife were found dead close to the path, where they had been 
speared by the natives. The assassins had taken away his rifle. 

I am barely able to distinguish between day and night with 
my eyes. I am now wearing green goggles, which I originally 
purchased for the Nile Expedition, 1884-85. There is no mis- 
taking the " modification of function " produced by this 
ophthalmia. Ali Somali, vel London (of No. 1 Company), did 
not reach camp to-night ; he had complained of a pain in his 
head in the morning, but had no fever. 

July 26. — We marched to the ferry this morning, about 
half an hour's walk, where we found six or eight canoes ; of 
which, however, some were quite unfit for use. However,, 
after some delay, and a good deal of palaver, three canoes 
were lent to us by the natives, but they took away one of 
these soon after. The canoes were at first poled for us by 
the natives ; but they soon got tired of the hard work, and the 
Zanzibaris then took it up. Emin Pasha and most of his 
people, also Stairs with No. 2 Company, were canoed across 
during the day. Nelson returned with No. 3 Company to 



1S80.] MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AND KARAGWE. 461 

try to find London. They did find him, and in good health 
too ; he was able to walk into camp as well as any man there ; 
the loafer should have been well punished for remaining 
behind in this way, and causing so much trouble. Blacks 
and whites are all the same in this one respect, both at home 
and abroad, when they have been sick for some weeks or months, 
and received medicine and sympathy without work, they almost 
invariably become goee-goees, which, being freely interpreted, 
means good-for-nothing hypochondriacs. 

July 27. — The remainder of the people of our caravan were 
transported across the Alexandra Nile to-day. Three of our 
cows were unfortunately lost; they stuck in the mud, and 
could not be got out of it. Emin Pasha, Stairs, Jephson, 
Bonny, and myself, are all down with the severest form of 
fever to-day ; this I attribute to the cold breezes to which 
we have been exposed. I am still perfectly blind in my right 
eye, so that I feel a horrible sense of insecurity. What on 
earth could I do if a row occurred now ? — pull the trigger for 
better or for worse, and probably shoot my best friend ; which, 
I presume, would be only manslaughter, not murder. 

The margin of this river forms a swamp on either side for a 
breadth of about 100 yards, which is thickly overgrown with 
papyrus. 

The country which we have now entered is called Karagwe. 
The face of Nature here seems to wear features similar to 
those of the Ankori country — high, rugged mountain ridges, 
interspersed with deep ravines, and very little water, except 
what can be procured from stagnant swamps. 

July 28. — We marched about five miles into the Karagwe 
country to-day, and halted, about 10.20 a.m., close to a swamp, 
as there was no other water to be got. 

Mr. Stanley, Stairs, Bonny, and three of the men, had all to 
be carried to-day, each being prostrate with high fever. Three 
boxes of Winchester ammunition were thrown into the river 
yesterday, as there were no men to carry them ; we have 
however, plenty left, as Mr. Stanley knows this country, and 
has been very fortunate in making friends. 

July 29. — We marched eight-and-a-half miles this morning, 
and stopped at Mtagata, a region of thermal springs. There 
are seven separate springs here, and six large pools receive 
the warm water. They are all very much used by the natives, 



462 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

who come from very long distances for the purpose of bathing 
in the waters, and also drinking them. They often lie in the 
baths for hours at a time. Mr. Stanley was familiar with this 
place, as he had visited it before. Vide Analysis "Dark 
Continent," p. 467. 

July 30. — Some syphilitic natives are here, trying to 
wash the lues out of their systems with these thermal waters. 
The superficies of the baths varies, from twenty feet by twelve 
to six by three. The usual depth is about three feet. The 
bottom is of earth and gravel. The temperature of the hottest 
of the springs is 111° F. ; the others are very little less. Close 
to the largest {i.e., the most northerly) bath there is a cold 
water spring. There is a continuous current of water passing 
through each bath : a copious supply passing in, and a free 
discharge from each ; accordingly, they are kept fairly clean. 
The hot water is not unpleasant to drink, and is very good to 
make tea with. This is such a contrast to the Karagwe water 
we have been using; the latter was extremely ferruginous. 
The water was almost undrinkable, from the amount of iron 
in it, and stained the swamps and river banks with its brown 
deposit. Plenty of slag was to be found both there and also 
close to the Semliki (where I performed blood-brotherhood 
with the Wahuma chief). It was evidently a native foundry, 
as hammers, anvil, bellows, and coke were found in abundance. 
According to the expressed opinion of my boy Muftah (and 
also of my faithful dwarf), this ferruginous water was of 
superlative excellence in tea making ; for they had found, by 
repeated experiments, that a few grains of tea would make a 
given quantity of it as black and as strong for drinking pur- 
poses as would a spoonful in the case of any other water they 
had ever used {i.e., of course, by forming tannate of iron). 

I took a thermal bath, and found it extremely pleasant. 
These baths occupy the south-western extremity of a ravine 
or glen, which ends here in a cul-de-sac, being enclosed by 
precipitous hills all around, excej)t on the eastern side. There 
are rhinoceroses in this part of the country ; Mr. Stanley had 
a shot at one yesterday, and some of the men are out to-day 
trying to secure rhinoceros meat. 

One of Kibbo-bora's wives died of dysentery to-day. I told 
him, five or six days ago, that she would die if not attended 
to ; I then gave her medicine once or twice, but when she felt 



1889.] MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AND KARAGWE. 463 

a little relieved she gave up attending, and her husband gave 
her a load to carry. So her tender-hearted spouse really 
killed her, by his exercise of the two-fold office of neglect and 
cruelty. When she was dead, however, as is the custom with 
the Manyuenia, he and his harem howled most piteously, night 
and day, for about twenty-four hours. 

July 31. — We marched to a banana plantation to-day, 
where we camped for the night. One of Nelson's chiefs was 
suspected of having stolen cowries, and was placed under 
arrest ; but on sifting the evidence, he was found " not guilty," 
and at once released. Kendi, my tent-bearer, deserted ; and 
Hari, my chief, was then appointed to the duty of carrying it. 

Of all the negroes, pigmies, cannibals, &c, &c, which I 
have met with in Africa, the Manyuema are certainly the 
worst and most vicious. Some of the men are, however, very 
fine specimens of the human animal, if regarded from that 
point of view only ; and some of the women are undeniably 
handsome, with beautiful necks and shoulders, high foreheads, 
thin lips, and thin, well-formed noses ; with other features and 
formations, which combine to give them a well-proportioned 
figure, that stands out in striking contrast to the pendulous, 
gross, and ungainly figures of the Nubians and Egyptians. 
The Manyuema women, when sufficient material is provided, 
wear a Ions; cloth tied around the chest — at the average height 
of a low-body European dress, both fore and aft — and hanging 
to the ankles, without any embroidery. 

Aug. 1. — We marched on to-day till we reached a very 
large banana plantation, where my little pigmy woman was 
suddenly struck down with extremely high fever. Since we 
left the great forest she has had several severe attacks, but 
struggled along in spite of increasing weakness, and would 
persist in accompanyiug our caravan. In common with all 
the other pigmies who followed us into the open plains, she 
suffered greatly from the direct rays of the sun, although she 
had the exclusive use of an umbrella which I made for her. 
I also gave her the pair of scarlet breeches which Mr. Stanley 
had kindly given to me ; these she managed to cover her head 
with, by passing her arms through the legs — in which arrange- 
ment, of course, the then upper portion of the inverted 
garment was easily made to accommodate itself to her head. 
Like all natives, when at all ill, she lies on the ground, thinks 



4G4 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

she is going to die, and will make no effort to get along. Most 
of the pigmies who left their homes in the dense shady forest, 
and accompanied us out to the open plains, have now pined away. 
I leave my poor little Monbuttu woman here with friendly 
natives, as she is unable to accompany us any further, and we 
have no carriers. She is a very great loss to me indeed ; while 
she was able to do it she always carried my food. She was a 
universal favourite in the caravan, and our parting with her was 
a very pathetic one. I had good reason, indeed, to be grateful 
to her for the past. I have to thank her for the comparatively 
good health which I enjoyed in the forest, especially during the 
starvation period ; when she collected for me the roots, leaves, 
fungi, insects, &c, &c, which were good to eat, and which were, 
of course, known only to the natives. I might have starved, or 
might have been poisoned, had it not been for her ministering 
care. She was always devoted and faithful to me, and, unlike 
some other ladies of the Dark Continent, her morals were 
entirely above suspicion. Her parting was singularly affecting 
and grateful, and her loss really cast a gloom over the caravan, 
as she was such a general favourite, always cheery and obliging. 
Although her scanty costume only consisted of Mr. Stanley's 
scarlet breeches, an umbrella, and a vine tied around her waist 
as a belt — from which nothing was suspended ; yet this little 
dwarf always maintained an exalted dignity and superior 
position amongst the other women of the caravan, and never 
once have I known her to be a trouble to any one. She 
nursed me through many and many a fever with characteristic 
gentleness and modesty, and her last act at parting was to 
give me the ivory bangles which she wore in the forest, but 
which had now dropped from her attenuated arms and ankles. 
Vide Nos. 20 and 23 on page 500. 

We saw the Merure lake to-day. 

Aug. 2. — We marched about seven miles this morning, and 
baited in a banana plantation. Our water supply is, unhappily, 
a mile and a half away. Yesterday, indeed, it was still further 
off. We saw the Windermere lake to-day. 

Last night Mr. Stanley called me up a little after midnight, 
as he was suffering greatly from muscular pains in the calves of 
his legs. I gave him a hypodermic dose of three-quarters of a 
grain of morphine, which relieved the pains, and he went to 
sleep soon after. 



1889.] MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AND KARAOWE. 465 

Aug. 3. — We reached Kafurro shortly after 11 a.m. to-day, 
and camped on a site which had formerly been occupied by 
trading Arabs, but is now the wretched-looking wreck of a 
deserted settlement. All the mud-walled houses which had 
been built by the Arabs in the prosperous days of their 
trading here, are now thrown down. The place was, it appears, 
formerly occupied by five or six well-to-do Arabs, with their 
respective households. All but two of them are now dead, 
and these survivors have gone to Unyanyembe and Msalala 
respectively. The several graves occupied by the deceased 
Arabs are still to be seen ; and the only living relics of their 
residence are one lemon tree, and some tomatoes, which they 
had planted. 

We saw the Windermere lake again to-day. 

Aug. 4. — An old man named Kiengo came to see Mr. Stanley ; 
he had accompanied Speke and Grant as far as Uganda. The 
old fellow is very comfortably off, and his hut is surrounded 
by a large cattle kraal, fie fee'd me with a sheep, for some 
professional advice which I gave his son. 

The king of this country, a boy of about sixteen or seventeen 
years of age, sent word to Mr. Stanley to rest in camp to-day 
and to-morrow, and that he would send plenty of food. The 
natives bring small quantities of potatoes, flour, chickens, &c, 
to our camp to sell, but they ask enormous prices. 

Most of the people here wear skins ; the remainder are 
clothed in Manchester ware — of very indifferent quality, and 
very dirty. 

Aug. 5. — Jephson ascended the hills to-day to pay his 
respects to His Majesty the King. He found the royal per- 
sonage living in a small hut of circular shape — insignificant- 
looking without, and extremely filthy within — and looking 
more like a " sweep " than a representative of royalty. 

This appears to have been an important commercial locality 
in the prosperous days of the Arab settlement. The Arab 
traders attracted large markets for the purchase of ivory. All 
this is, however, now changed, and there is nothing but deso- 
lation about. 

I paid a visit to Kiengo to-day. He has about fifteen huts 
within his courtyard, and a plentiful store of dirt. He 
" receives " on a barazan. The king sent a present of food — 
insufficient to feed our poople for one day. 

2 H 



466 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

Aug. 6. — The king sent a very few bunches of bananas to 
us to-day. I sold Kiengo a £25 hammerless gun (by Keilly) 
for about eighty yards of cloth — very inferior stuff indeed. 
With the usual African instincts of bargain-making he sent 
me in return four doti of the cloth, accompanied by a message 
promising that he would give me the remainder in the early 
morning when we were starting off ; as we would have to pass 
by his hut, and that I could give him the gun at once. Like 
most negroes, however, he had some difficulty in getting out 
the truth ; so, after some hesitation, he took back the cloth, 
and left me the gun. On these data, I diagnosed the presence 
of ignorance, attempted craft, and savage stupidity in this 
case. 

Karagwe, so far as we have seen it, is the least fertile and 
least enterprising of the African territories through which we 
have as yet passed. Kafurro, the capital, is armed by, at the 
most, between thirty and forty rifles. Very few of the natives 
appear to do sporting or hunting of any kind. Any one 
of them who possesses a rifle carries it about with him, whether 
he has any ammunition or not. The king's hut (palace ! ) was, 
like most of the dwellings in this part of Africa, entirely unfit 
for a human being to live in. His present to us was a very 
.shabby one. 

Aug. 7. — We marched to-day over very rough gravelly 
ground, and then up precipitous hills, which we found extremely 
laborious work. From the hills we saw a lake (Muero), which 
had, I believe, been seen by Speke and Grant. This is a very 
barren, dried-up, uninteresting country. 

Aug. 8. — Our native guide had originally engaged to come 
with us to another camp, but refused to-day ; and requested to 
be paid, so that he might return to his friends and relations. 
He thought that he understood fellows like us. But Mr. Stanley 
brought him on to the next camp, where he gave him his 
cloth, and permitted him to depart in peace. 

Aug. 9. — We camped to-day in the midst of bananas. Ten 
cows were killed to provision our caravan. 

Stairs and I both have fever to-day. In the evening 
Mr. Stanley invited Stairs, Nelson, Jephson, and myself into 
his tent for a chat. We found him in remarkably good spirits, 
which he attributed to a relieved liver. 

I purchased four chickens to-day for a cow-skin — two babas 



1889.] MARCH THROUGH ANKORI AND KARAGWE. 467 

(males), and two bebes (females). We remained in camp, as 
■we are collecting a supply of food for six days — before starting 
forward again. Yesterday was the coldest day I have ever 
experienced in Africa — up to about 2 p.m. Several of the 
little children died from the intense cold. Every one of the 
small people seemed to stiffen up with the chill, and appeared 
entirely unable to use their rigid limbs. As the sun was not 
visible, and rain continued to fall till some time after noon, 
fires were lighted along the route, and the little ones were 
brought near them, and made comfortable with the warmth — a 
precaution which certainly saved many lives. 

Aug. 10. — We started early this morning : first marching 
down a steep hill, then immediately up another, equally steep 
and rocky ; from which we descended a fearfully rocky and 
sharp incline ; then passed on to a large swampy plain — over- 
grown with papyrus — and reached Lake Urigi. This body of 
water is about fifty miles in length, but narrow, and shoots out 
branches in all directions. 

We had marched from 6.30 a.m. till 2 p.m. My temperature 
has been at 105° F. all day long. 

Aug. 11. — We marched across hills and valleys to-day, 
<md camped — again near the lake. We procured two large 
fishes from the natives here; both of them contained flat 
worms, so I unhesitatingly denounced them as unfit for human 
food. I also gave directions to have all the water thoroughly 
boiled before drinking. 

We marched from 6.30 A.M. till 11.30 A.M. My temperature 
was 102° F. when starting ; when we halted at camping-place 
it was normal — an experience which demonstrates pretty 
satisfactorily that exercise does not prolong an attach of this 
fever, although when in a low condition fatigue certainly 
aggravates it. 



2 h 2 



468 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

ME. MACK AY'S MISSION-STATION AT US AM BIRO. 

Unprovoked attack on the natives by some of our worst characters — Fathcl 
Mullah, a Nubian, is handed over to the natives for punishment — The 
march to Ruanda — Present from the old chief in return for professional 
advice — Our first glimpse of the Victoria Nyanza — Delay caused by non- 
appearance of promised guides — Sorcery among the natives — We camp 
on the shores of Lake Victoria — Charmed lives possessed by the Euro- 
peans of the Expedition — We enter the King of Usui's dominion — 
Remains of a dead Zebra — Flight of natives from their hut» while passing 
through Usambiro's country — Quantities of honey — A strange custom of 
King Mirambo's — Local rumours — Perpetual inter-tribal animosity — 
Lack of good drinking-water — The French Missionary Station at 
Bukumbi — Hearty reception by Mr. Mackay at Usambiro — Description 
of the mission station — Mr. Mackay a wonderful mechanic — Welcome 
news and letters — The Germans and Zanzibar — My experiences of 
malarial fever from the Ruwenzori range to the Coast — The symptoms 
and progress of an attack of fever — Miss Berkeley's experiences of African 
fever among missionaries — At all altitudes we suffered with fever — 
Administration of quinine for fever — No cases of the hemorrhagic form 
of malarial fever — Mr. Mackay kindly replenishes my stock of medicines 
and provides other necessary articles for our use — English missionaries 
in Equatorial Africa are much handicapppd — An attack of ophthalmia 
prevents me from finishing my regular diary — Chances of survival of the- 
white man in Africa — The principal varieties of African produce on 
which- we subsisted — Plantains and bananas — Potatoes — Meat and fish 
— Insects and reptiles — Cereals — Manioc — Cassava — Forest beans and 
fruits — European provisions — Mboga — Mohoga and other leaves on. 
which we subsisted — Patience and forbearance of the Zanzibaris during 
their trials of starvation — My Zanzibari chief, Feruzi Ali — Our ex- 
hausted condition during the starvation period — My medical experiences- 
on board the S.S. Madura and Oriental — Description of Tippu-Tib and 
his staff as observed by me on the S.S. Madura. 

Aug. 12. — Grouse-shooting begins to-day ; I feel sure that 
they are having a rough time of it. It has, moreover, been a 
very tragic day with our caravan. We halted in a well- 
sheltered camping-ground ; and, shortly after arrival, some of 
our worst characters strolled off among the native huts — 
although this was directly contrary to orders — with a view to 
appropriating anything they might think it desirable to covet. 
They, however, found the unoffending native very much 



1689.] FATHEL MULLAH'S PUNISHMENT. 469 

disinclined to yield up his property. As was natural between 
parties so diametrically opposed in their views, a dispute 
occurred between the prowlers and the rightful owners, and 
one of the Nubian soldiers we brought from Egypt, named 
Fathel Mullah, fired at a native, and killed him on the spot. 
The villagers followed these looters into camp, and complained 
to Mr. Stanley of the unprovoked attack and the murder. The 
companies were fallen in, so as to detect the aggressors ; the 
natives identified this man, who, on investigation, was found 
guilty of wilful murder, without any extenuating circumstances 
whatever. He was, accordingly, at once handed over to the 
natives for the infliction of punishment. They greedily rushed 
upon him, and seized him — as only savages can do — with eyes 
glaring with demoniacal delight, and a horrible grin of vin- 
dictive satisfaction displaying their white ivory-like teeth, 
which gnashed with the rage they were about to quench in his 
blood. It was a horribly thrilling sight to see him dragged off 
by his captors. He had a most scoundrelly-looking face, and 
they hauled him off, in spite of his abject entreaties, to spear 
him to death, as is their custom, for it is " blood for blood " 
with these people. He certainly was an atrocious ruffian, and 
thoroughly deserved his horrible doom ; still it was a dreadful 
scene as he was brought off to receive the treatment that 
awaited him at the hands of his executioners. 

Aug. 13. — We marched early to-day, and ascended a steep 
rocky mountain to a plateau above ; through which ran a river, 
on its way to the lake we had left behind us. We passed a 
few banana plantations, and a native village ; the inhabitants 
of the latter seemed disposed to levy a toll from us for per- 
mission to pass through. We camped close to the river. 

Aug. 14. — We remained in camp all day, for the rest's sake 
which the lazy gang of the Pasha's followers were so anxious 
to indulge in ; we also wanted time to make distribution of 
local money for the purchase of rations. To each member of the 
Expedition thirty-two cowries were given, for the purchase of 
four days' rations. The Zanzibaris, with their characteristic 
prudence and forethought, soon spoiled the native market 
for us ; a fowl could be purchased for five cowries in the 
morning ; in the evening, the wily natives demanded 100 
cowries for a similar article. 

Aug. 15. — We made a lon^ march to-dav — through a verv 



470 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

picturesque country — and reached Kuancla. Here we had art 
hour's delay, while waiting for the chief's permission — or, 
rather, for hirn to make up his mind to give his permission — - 
to march through his country for two days. Mr. Stanley 
appears to me to have too much patience with these kings, 
and queens, and princes ; halting an entire caravan of nearly 
1,000 people is no trifle, even to please an African monarch. 

Aug. 16. — The old chief who rules here is very feeble. I 
gave him some medicine, and he sent me two pots of pomhe 
(banana wine), and two bunches of bananas. He also sent a 
goodly present of bananas to the Expedition — more than did 
the stingy King of Karagwe. We have got our first glimpse- 
of the Victoria Nyanza from here. From this camp to Msalala,. 
the site of Mackay's Missionary Station (Church Missionary 
Society), is but two clays by boat — it is eight days distant by 
land ; this, however, means fifteen days for our caravan, with 
its ornamental Egyptian tail. We are all delighted at the 
prospect of once more receiving letters from our distant 
friends to cheer us ; as we are now pretty well sick of 
adventure and exploration. We have still a period of four 
and a half months separating us from the coast, and I feel 
thoroughly worn out. 

Aug. 17. — Suliman Effendi, one of the Pasha's officers, died 
last night. We are again obliged to wait here for the clay, 
as our guides will not be forthcoming till to-morrow. This is 
certainly done on purpose by the leery old chief, so that he 
may have a day's more doctoring and medicine, and also a 
brisk market. I visited him again to-day, and gave him some 
" Livingstone Rousers." Everything about the old sinner is- 
mysterious, and, like most native Africans, he is excessively 
superstitious. Yesterday his people asked me whether a 
chicken should be killed. I replied in the negative. When 
this rite is performed, the sorcerer is obliged to name the 
person (of course, one whom he has a spite against) who has 
given the evil thing to the king. The chicken is killed, the 
liver and intestines taken out, and, when this has been clone, 
the native wizard can at once tell who the ill-fated individual 
is that has given the king (or other sick person) the disease in 
question. They also wished me to tell them — at once, and 
decisively — whether shitan (the devil) was in his majesty's 
head. I pronounced an energetic ojrinion that he was not. 



1889.] CHARMED LIVES. 471 

Had I replied in the affirmative, I would have been expected 
at once to point out who the person was that had put his sable 
majesty there, and the individual indicated would have been 
immediately sacrificed, according* to custom. It is pretty 
obvious that the native sorcerer (or doctor) has a splendid 
vantage-ground for the extermination of his enemies. 

Aua. 18. — We marched this morning from 6.30 till 11.30 a.m., 
when we camped in a plantain grove on the shores of the 
Victoria Nyanza. The water of this lake is much fresher 
and nicer, in all its physical qualities, than is that of either 
the Albert Edward Nyanza or the Albert Nyanza itself — or., 
indeed, of any other African lake I have seen. There seems . 
to be very little growth of papyrus or rushes on the shore, and', 
numerous islands lie in a continuous line alone: — at a distance 
of from half to one mile from the shore, somewhat like the 
Aleutian chain as it looks on a map. We have been 
travelling on the elevated plateau ever since leaving the 
Urigi lake ; so we had to descend, over very rocky ground, 
through a height of 600 to 800 feet, to get to the plain below 
which surrounds the Victoria Nyanza. We have had so many 
ups and downs, however, in our recent progress, that I shall 
not be surprised if we ascend again to-morrow. 

Immediately on arriving at Msalala, Mr. Stanley is to send: 
off a courier with letters ; we may receive some, but some- 
must be sent in any case, besides those to private friends. 
We reach Msalala in twelve or thirteen clays, probably. We 
must have some friends to meet us at Zanzibar ; we must there 
don some decent clothes, and then try and find our way home, 
perhaps via Cairo. I am fairly puzzled as to what I shall do 
when I get there, as I came into Africa a beggar, and am 
leaving it in still greater poverty ; but, thank heaven, we are 
all alive, and we may be able to assist each other. 

We Europeans bear charmed lives ; exactly two years ago 
— by this day — I was very nearly hit by a poisoned arrow ;, 
which actually passed between my arm and my body, and 
stuck fast in the wall of the hut, beside which I was sitting.. 
Nelson and myself were having luncheon when we were 
attacked by the vicious natives. We had a small party with 
us, including Eashid, the head chief, and Hassani who had an 
arrow driven deep into his back. Dreadful wind and rain we 
also had on that fateful day ; and the men in such a deplorably 



472 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AER1CA. [1889. 

weak condition ! One lay down and died on the road as we 
marched ; two who were carried into the camp died in their 
improvised hammocks ; they had perished from exposure on 
the way, and their demise was not discovered till the end of 
the march. One of the men was killed in his hnt by an arrow 
which pierced his aorta. We were then returning from our 
seven days' wanderings in the forest with Jephson. 

Shaban Majera was lost to-day ; he had a large ulcer, and 
eA^aded the rear-guard by hiding in the tall grass. 

Aug. 19. — We left camp this morning at 6.10 am., and 
marched till noon, when we again struck the Victoria Nyanza, 
and camped in the open, on a burning hot plain. AVe are now 
out of Kajumba's country, and in the dominion of another. 
The king of Usui has conquered all this land down to the lake 
shore, so that we shall have to encounter him to-morrow 
or next day. The kingdoms are becoming more numerous as 
we proceed, and our route has happily enabled us to avoid 
the mercenary demands which, we understand, this king 
makes on pilgrims passing through his territory. We may 
have a brush with him, but it will be over with a few shots. 
.He retained old Kajumba a prisoner for four months ; and has 
a trading Arab imprisoned at the present moment, who had 
fbeen making his way through the country to Karagwe. 

This is a scorching hot day. 

Aug. 20. — This morning we passed a dead zebra on the 
march, which had been killed by a lion or a leopard. I stopped 
for half an hour with the remains of the animal, and, among 
other attentions bestowed, I cut off its mane, which I intend 
to bring home. AVe entered a new country to-day, called 
Usambiro ; and fully expected to meet with some opposition to 
our progress, as it has been conquered by Kassasura, king of 
Usui. From the reputation of this royal personage, we had 
been led to anticipate that he would levy a poll-tax on us 
for the privilege of passing through his territory, a piece of 
politeness which would have certainly been resented. AVe 
received, however, no trouble whatever from the natives ; 
although we marched for rive hours — about ten miles. AVe 
are now but five days from Msalala. 

Aug. 21. — AA r e marched about eight miles to-day. The 
natives appear to be greatly frightened at our appearance ; 
they leave their huts and run away as we approach. Very 



3889.] HONEY. 473 

few of tliern have had the pluck to come into camp. There is a 
great deal of honey in this country ; indeed, since we left 
Ankori, there has been honey for sale everywhere. The 
natives suspend portions of trunks of trees, hollowed out some- 
what in canoe pattern, here and there among the trees ; the 
bees build in these traps, and the honey is secured in this 
way. It is very rich and sweet ; the flavour is a little rank, 
but it sweetens tea and coffee. We give it in exchange for 
calico, beads, &c. ; but here the natives will not take cowries 
at all ! There is no accounting for differences of taste. 

Aug. 22. — We marched eight miles to-day, and reached 
a village surrounded by a boma, and occupied by Wanyam- 
wezi. We are now in Usukuma, where many of the inhabitants 
speak Swahili. I have seen a good many of the Wanyamwezi 
whose hands had been cut of! at the wrists ; this had been done 
by order of Mirambo, the great king of Unyanyembe, who 
always amputated the hands of his prisoners of war, so as 
effectually to prevent them from fighting against him another 
time. The operation is performed by laying the hand on a 
board, and chopping it off. 

Aug. 23. — We marched fourteen miles to-day, and reached 
another Wanyamwezi village, where we obtained plenty of food 
to buy — rice, &c, &c. 

Aug. 24. — We took our ease in camp to-day ; many were 
footsore after the continuous marching of the last six days — 
averaging about nine miles a day. We hear that two white 
men are at Msalala, but that Mackay has gone home. All 
these local rumours must be, of course, taken cum grano, as 
the natives in most places are only acquainted with the news 
and scandal of a radius of two days or so. This is chiefly due 
to the fact that each tribe fights with'its neighbour. However, 
we members of the E.P.K. Expedition should not complain 
too much of this unhappy state of things ; had it not been for 
this perpetual inter-tribal animosity we should never have 
been able to cross Africa with our lives. We could never 
have penetrated the domains of large united tribes like those 
of Uganda, Unyoro, or Kuanda. 

Aug. 25. — We marched about seven miles to-day, and 
•camped in a low scrub or bush. A few natives visited us 
and sold us tobacco. 

Aug. 26. — We camped to-day in the bush. The most 



474 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

important feature of our surroundings was the very bad water 
which we were obliged to use. I have not seen a running 
stream since we left the Alexandra Nile. We halted after six 
hours' good marching. Mr. Stanley bought a large pot of 
honey, which he distributed. Bonny is down with a sharp 
fever to-day; he complains that he eats nothing; this is, 
however, an advantage in this country, where travellers so 
often have nothing to eat. 

Aug. 27.— We marched for six and a half hours to-day, and 
reached a very fine set of buildings, surrounded by a boma. 
They had been erected by the French mission with much care 
and taste, but for some reason had been evacuated and aban- 
doned afterwards. There is first an outer boma, within which 
are some grass huts; then an inner boma, enclosing six 
separate buildings, four of which are built of mud. These are 
each thirty yards long, and furnished with large verandahs. 
The others are constructed of wood; and all have grass- 
thatched roofs, the grass being, in its turn, covered with mud. 
All the houses are furnished with well-made wooden doors and 
windows. The chapel is extremely well-built; it contains; 
various sacred ornaments, and has a cross above the roof. 
The other buildings are each divided into rooms — kitchen, 
workshop, and bedrooms. The whole is extremely neat and 
well-constructed, and reflects the highest credit on the priests- 
to whom the place owed its origin ; indeed, my private opinion 
is that the example of superiority and skill shown by such 
work is much more likely to leave a lastingly useful impression 
on the African native than an endless amount of theological 
and moral oratory. 

Aug. 28. — We marched to-day to the southern end of the 
Victoria Nyanza — to Usambiro, where the Church Missionary 
Society have a station. Here we were met by Mr. Mackay, 
the famous missionary, who had been kept prisoner in Uganda,, 
and Mr. Deakes, another missionary. They gave us a hearty 
reception, and showed us some old newspapers, in which we 
read a good deal of interesting matter quite new to us poor 
benighted travellers. We read of the " Nitrate King," and 
fancied that some new state had been formed ; of the " Sweat- 
ing System," which we thought had something to do with the 
Turkish bath ; of the " Conversion of the Egyptian Debt," 
which, according to Mr. Stanley's explanation, was merely 



1889.] MACK ATS MISSION STATION. 475 

changing it from Mohammedanism to Christianism ; and so 
on. The Mission Station we found well-built ; the houses had 
mud walls, and were furnished with large verandahs. A huge 
workshop, where Mackay was building a steam-launch, with 
boilers, &c, all complete, elicited expressions of great admira- 
tion. The Station is surrounded by a boma, formed by strong 
poles, which are firmly fixed in the ground. The site is on a 
very dry, barren soil, and the nearest water is that of the 
Victoria ISTyanza, quite two miles off. At the southernmost 
end is the Speke Gulf. 

We arrived here about 11 A.M. this morning, and ate up 
everything we could lay hands on, in the shape of food. 
Mackay and Deakes were most cordial and generous, and 
threw open all their stores to us. We got delicious tea,, 
coffee, and biscuits. Every evening Mackay and Deakes have 
about twenty children into their room, who pray and sing 
hymns. The pity is, that there are only two individuals be- 
longing to the Church Missionary Society, to do the work of 
twelve. The French Koman Catholic missionaries, who are 
higher up on the Lake, are six or seven in number, and grow 
fine cabbages and other vegetables. They had a supply of 
clothes and boots, which we bought from them for some dollars, 
to be paid at Zanzibar. All the missionaries were on good 
terms, and were most kind to us. Mackay is a very superior 
fellow, and a wonderful mechanic. He has made large carts 
with wheels to portage heavy timber, builds boats and houses, 
&c. ; and in this way gains the admiration of the natives, who 
respect him, as he shows his superiority in some practical way 
which they can understand. 

Aug. 29. — We rested to-day, and enjoyed the first European 
news we had heard for nearly two and a half years. Our first 
question was, whether her Majesty the Queen was still alive ; 
then H.R.H. the Prince of Wales ; then the Princess of Wales. 
We heard of two dead Emperors of Germany ; no campaigns \ 
that the Panama Canal was still unfinished, &c, &c. 

We distributed rations of beads to all the men ; read news- 
papers all day ; none of us received letters, with the exception 
of Mr. Stanley and Stairs, who got two each. We heard of 
some fighting between the Germans and the Arabs at the 
coast, and accordingly, we are disposed to think that all our 
letters have been captured by the Arabs ; or if, perhaps, they 



476 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

had escaped the Arabs, and passed through to Uganda, they 
would certainly have been seized there, on account of the 
rebellion. Our latest newspaper is February, 1888, so that 
we only got the news of the "Failure of the Emin Pasha 
Eelief Expedition " — printed while we were working hard and 
doing well. We are short of necessary raiment ; but we find 
that Bishop Parker and two other missionaries have yielded 
up the ghost, leaving their clothes, which we are only too 
glad to purchase. 

When we started with the Expedition, we were constantly 
chaffing the Zanzibaris by telling them that the Germans 
would have Zanzibar when we returned ; they always replied 
that the "Bebe" of England (i.e. the Queen) would soon 
make it all right for them, and not see them badly treated, 
showing the extreme confidence which they had in the Bc> 
luzi (British Consul-General), formerly Sir John Kirk, now 
Colonel Euan Smith, C.B.* It is really curious that our 
frivolous jokes should have been verified so truly. 

Aug. 30, 31. — Sun extremely hot. We received a small 
quantity of European provisions, which had been ordered by 
Mr. Stanley. 

Ever since we left the precincts of the Kuwenzori range 
our caravan has been terribly stricken by the pestilent plague 
of the local malarial fevers. While we were within a moderate 
radius of the lunar mountains we had a fairly copious and pure 
water-supply ; but since we got well without their area we 
have had to utilise the water of stagnant pools, which are 
habitually haunted by herds of cattle and other animals, who 
resort to them for the purposes of washing and cooling them- 
selves, as well as of quenching their thirst; also that of 
papyrus swamps and their overflow rivulets, the liquid of 
which was often of a porridgy consistence, from the amount 
of suspended mud, composed of every conceivable variety of 
inorganic and organic matter, and sometimes so richly ferru- 
ginous, that partaking of our tea-beverage prepared from them 
simply meant drinking ink; while other specimens were so 
laden with sulphurous compounds or decomposing vegetable 
matter, that the smell was often enough to sicken the stomach 
before it reached the mouth at all. Under such circumstances, 
it is not to be wondered at that the malaria prevailed against 

* Now Sir Charles Euan Smith, K.C.B. 



1889.] MALARIAL FEVERS. 477 

us as a raging epidemic. In addition to this inexhaustible 
supply of the marsh-miasm, we had, in the extremely hilly 
country of Ankori, the additional factor of perpetually-recur- 
ring draughts and chills as we passed up hill and down ravine; 
We always reached the summit in a bath of perspiration, from 
which we were invariably dried by a chilling breeze as we* 
descended to the base of the same elevation. As we mean- 
dered along the tortuous downward path, we experienced the 
benefit of the gusty blasts on every possible aspect of our 
bodies, so that we reached the bottom of every valley in a 
universal shiver. When the valley was furnished with a 
papyrus swamp, to whose margin we had to accommodate our 
path for some distance, and from which we had to ascend 
another steep, from whose summit we passed down to another 
ravine and another swamp — and so on, hour after hour, for the 
day's march — there is no questioning the fact that we were 
furnished with all the data for the development of intermittent 
fever. These conditions were further emphasised by the great 
range of the diurnal temperature in those districts : the ther- 
mometer falling in the evenings as much as 20° C. in a few 
hours, so that a very chilly night, to whose influences our men/ 
were often almost completely exposed, would be followed by a 
biting, breezy morning, with hoar-frost on the surface of the 
ground, and during which we were obliged to prepare for the 
day's march. The reasonable result is that every single 
member of our whole caravan, which includes about 1000 
souls, has suffered from fever during our progress through 
the hilly district of Ankori ; even the natives themselves did 
not escape. My experience of it has indeed been copious* 
enough to serve me for a lifetime. Another factor, which I 
am sure greatly increased the susceptibility of our people to- 
malarial influences, was the exposure to the direct rays of the 
sun, without sufficient protection for the head and spine. 
This was when we reached camp, as the boxes protected the 
head on the march. Our immunity from sunstroke has 
certainly been very remarkable ; but there is no doubt that 
the systems of the men are affected by the exposure, although 
we have met with so few of the phenomena of heat-apoplexy. 

In some of the cases of fever, the symptoms have developed 
quite suddenly, without any premonitory stage ; this is, how- 
ever, exceptional. In the great majority, the attack is pre- 



478 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

ceded by general malaise, accompanied by constipation, with 
flatulence and eructations, dull aching pains over every muscle 
and bone (worst over the loins and about the knees), with 
severe cramps in the legs. The back-ache sometimes comes 
on as suddenly as if the patient had been struck heavily across 
the loins with a stick. At the same time, there is a decided 
tendency to increased activity of both mind and body, with 
rapid respiration, and quick, thumping action of the heart. 
The complexion, at the very beginning, looks sallow, but soon 
becomes florid and congested, and the eyes develop a peculiar, 
wild, staring, brilliant look, which is very characteristic. Pain 
in the temples is also an early and a prominent symptom, and 
it persists throughout : sometimes even till a day or two after 
the temperature has gone down to the normal standard. 
Vomiting also appears early, and is very persistent; when a 
large quantity of biliary matter is brought up in the early 
(cold) stage, it often gives great relief. The crisis is some- 
times accompanied by very profuse sweating, which gives 
extreme relief. There may be no initial shivering. The 
temperature sometimes falls without any sweating; but in 
this case the fever almost invariably returns. Sometimes 
the paroxysms recur with such frequency, that they run into 
each other — intermittent then becomes remittent. This is, 
of course, indicative of the inception of a very large dose of 
the poison. The excited manner, extreme talkativeness, staring 
look, flushed face, and restless activity of the initial stage 
sometimes look actually like the early stage of alcoholic in- 
toxication. In severe cases, when the fever approaches the 
continued type, the patient's frame will be found, after a 
couple of days, to have shrivelled, apparently, to about one- 
half its original bulk. Great prostration is felt, and this 
remains till the convalescence has been well established. The 
legs feel extremely weak and shaky, a symptom which also 
persists for a good while after a bad attack. As often as not, 
in the vast number of cases which occurred in Ankori, there 
was no third stage. The first, or cold stage, is always the 
shortest ; the third usually the longest, when there is a second 
present. The blood-pressure in the renal vessels is, of course, 
greatly increased, as the superficial vessels are all contracted. 
An increased secretion, of rather low specific gravity, is 
the consequence. From beginning to end of the fever the 



1889.] MALARIAL FEVERS. 479 

tongue is nearly always coated with a whitish fur; which, 
as the pyrexia subsides, gradually clears off, from the tip and 
edges towards the base and septum. In severe cases, when 
the fever approaches the continued type, or when there are 
sharp paroxysms with short intermissions, the patient, after 
two or three days, usually complains a good deal of distressing 
tightness about the chest, or a feeling of suffocation ; this is 
chiefly due to the enormous enlargement of the spleen. There 
is often a good deal of pain complained of along the course 
of the larger nerves (great sciatic, anterior crural, median, 
&c). Towards the end of an attack the renal secretion 
becomes darker, and mixed with bile. 

The muscular pains and subsequent soreness, and the refer- 
ence to the joints (knee, &c), are often strongly suggestive of 
some close similarity between the circulatory lesions of our 
fever cases and those of rheumatism. Both can be intelligibly 
explained, I think, by the presence in the lymph-spaces of an 
enormous excess of tissue debris, especially muscular. We 
know that the chemical changes in muscular tissue furnish by 
iar the greatest part of the heat of the human economy ; and, 
as a sudden attack of pyrexia accordingly indicates an explosive 
molecular change throughout the muscular system, we neces- 
sarily have, under such circumstances, a greater quantity of 
muscular waste washed into the lymph-spaces than can be 
taken up by the minute lymphatic vessels. The complex 
chemical compounds so formed — the predecessors and con- 
geners of the uric acid of gout, the lactic acid of rheumatism, 
&c, &c. — simply poison the fluids of the tissues till the system 
has had time to get rid of the excess by gradual excretion. 

The patient suffers from an atonic state of the walls of the 
alimentary canal, which is indicated by the fact that for some 
time before and after, as well as during, the fever any aperient 
medicine given must be administered in a larger dose than is 
required during health, in order to produce any effect 
whatever. 

[When returning homeward from Zanzibar (per the British 
I. S.S. Katoria), I met Miss Berkeley (11th January, 1890) of 
the Zanzibar branch of the University Mission, who was 
returning by the same steamer. This lady informed me that 
during her African experience of the past five years, of the 
thirty male members of the Mission whom she had known as 



480 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889: 

residents in the "Dark Continent," six had died, and five 
others had been invalided home ; while of the lady mission- 
aries not one had died, and nobody had been invalided during 
the same period. This narrative corroborates very strongly, I 
think, the opinion I had already expressed in my diary, of the 
fatal importance of direct exposure to sun and chill in the 
production of African fever. The cause of this enormous 
difference in the mortality of the male and female members- 
of the Mission is, I believe, due to the fact that the duties 
of the latter kept them under the protecting shade of their 
houses while the men were obliged to go about and expose 
themselves — at all hours, and under all circumstances.] 

I may mention that we suffered from fever at all altitudes, 
up to 10,000 feet above sea-level. The prophylactic treatment 
which we adopted betimes was certainly more effective than 
any curative treatment that I know of would have been. 
About ten days or so before entering the mouth of the Congo, 
each officer of the Expedition was given four grains of quinine 
twice a day ; and, from the time we entered the mouth of the 
Congo, on the 18th of March 1887, till we reached Stanley Pool, 
on the 22nd of April, a distance of 350 miles, there were but one- 
or two cases of fever amongst our officers ; although the quinine 
was taken but very occasionally during this interval. The 
Belgian officers, stationed at Stanley Pool, told us that our 
exemption from fever was most extraordinary and unusual. 
The white officers of their caravans, when on the same march, 
had suffered incessantly from fever, and many of the number 
had died. In strong contrast, indeed, to this was the history 
of our caravan ; which, although it included the largest number 
of white officers who had ever travelled together over the 
same ground, had had but one or two cases of fever — neither 
of which was excessive] y severe — and recorded no death. The 
result impressed us all so strongly with the value of the- 
prophylactic treatment, that, so far as our stock of quinine 
permitted, we pursued it all through our entire expedition. 

The administration of quinine after the attack of fever has 
commenced is entirely useless, it is nearly always rejected,, 
and, if retained, it does no good. When the temperature is 
lowest, a large dose should always be given; this is usually 
in the early morning. (" Quinine and Orange Wine," is an 
extremely nice preparation to take.) An opiate or hypodermic 



1889.] 



MALARIAL FEVERS. 



481 



•injection of morphine administered in the early stage gives 
great relief from the terrible rachialgia, which is one of the 
severest symptoms. As the paroxysm advances, a hypodermic 
injection of pilocarpine is very useful, as it produces profuse 
sweating, and really has a magical effect on the symptoms. In 
the course of an " intermittent," in which we know when to 
expect the advent of a paroxysm, a large dose of quinine 
(forty grains), given four hours before the attack is due, is 
sometimes of use. Arsenic, or Warburg's tincture, succeeds 
in some cases where quinine fails. I have tried "jvara-hari" 
and other drugs, but did not find them superior to quinine. 

The hseniorrhagic form of malarial fever is pretty often 
seen among w hite travellers (or settlers) on the Congo ; but we 
had no cases among the members of the Expedition excepting 
Stairs' and my own. It is a truly deadly disease. It is accom- 
panied by extreme nervous exhaustion, with very deep jaun- 
dice, and copious renal hceniaturia. The secretion is of the 
colour of XX stout, and is found, on examination, to be loaded 
with blood-corpuscles, and blood-casts from the uriniferous 
tubules. Very few cases have been seen on the east coast. 

Our stock of medicines was now at a very low ebb as we 
settled down to our comfortable rest at Usambiro. Our warm- 
hearted and truly generous host, Mr. Mackay, now kindly 
furnished me with a few items ; vaseline, one pound, sulphate 
of quinine, one ounce ; permanganate of potassium, one ounce ; 
carbolic acid, one ounce ; calomel, half an ounce ; and War- 
burg's tincture, six ounces. With these important additions to 
my armamentarium, I felt fortified for the march to Zanzibar. 

As I possessed little or no raiment, I obtained, on payment, 



the following — very necessary — articles from Mr. Mack 


Shoes ....... 1 pair. 


Socks .... 




. 1 pair. 


Handkerchiefs 




. 2 


Sponge .... 




. 1 


Trousers 




. 1 pair. 


Umbrella cover 




. 1 


Pyjamas suit . 




. 1 


Stud collar 




. 1 


Needles. .... 




. 6 


Rum .... 




. 1 bottle. 


Soap .... 




1 bar. 


Soap ..... 




. 1 cake. 


Butter 




. 2 tins. 


Candles .... 




. 20 


Drink iDg-c up . 




. 1 

2 ] 



482 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889, 

This is the first time we have used candles since June, 1887, 
excepting those we made at Mazamboni's ; it is the first soap we 
have had since Christmas 1887, excepting what we manufactured 
ourselves. We have forgotten the use of the pocket handker- 
chief, and a pyjamas suit feels like a fancy costume. 

Mr. Stanley had about thirty donkeys waiting here for him ; 
which he divided amongst those of the Pasha's people who 
were invalids. 

The English Church Missionaries in Equatorial Africa are 
very much handicapped, as there is on an average only one to 
every three or four French Missionaries to carry on their laudable 
work ; also, the French work on a better system, as they teach 
the natives how to improve their worldly possessions and 
comforts — by planting European seeds, building houses, sawing 
timber, &c, &c, — in addition to seeing after their spiritual 
requirements. 

I mention with, I hope, pardonable pride, that I was never 
once carried by man or beast (except in passing rivers) while 
crossing Africa — about 5,000 miles — until October 1889, when 
within a month or so of the east coast: I was then obliged to 
ride a donkey, as my boots were worn out. 

****** 

An attack of ophthalmia, which clung to me till I reached 
the coast, prevented me from keeping a regular diary during 
the remaining period of our transit. No very remarkable 
incident, however, occurred in this interval — either medically 
or socially, except what has been told in the pages of " Darkest- 
Africa." We continued to have a good many cases of malarial 
fever ; but with improved nutrition and hygiene the remaining 
ulcers, which had for so long a time formed the great plague 
of the Expedition, gradually healed up and cicatrised. 

With the declining altitude, and the unavoidable use of 
drinking-water from stagnant pools, fevers became very pre- 
valent from the time we left the Euwenzori range, and, as 
already mentioned, were maintained in great numbers by the 
alternate perspirations and chills of our marches through the 
hilly country of Ankori. Still, taking into consideration the 
privations to which we were subjected during the course of the 
Expedition, covering a space of three years, I think that its net 
results point very hopefully to the chances of survival of the 
white man in Africa. Of the thirteen Europeans engaged by 



1889.] EUROPEANS IN AFRICA. 483 

Mr. Stanley for the Eniin Pasha Belief Expedition, seven 
marched across Africa, and arrived safe (and fairly sound) at 
Zanzibar, each having suffered from at least 150 attacks of 
African fever during the march. One died from fever ; one was 
shot ; one remained for ten months at Yambuya, and was in- 
valided home ; one remained at Yambuya for seven months, 
and was sent away with despatches (in good health) ; two re- 
mained on the Congo. Now, had we been subjected to corre- 
sponding hardships during a march of the same distance in 
any extra-tropical region I know of, I very much doubt whether 
the total result would have been at all more favourable. Eleven 
of our thirteen Europeans are still alive, and, I believe, in 
good health; one died a violent death; one, only, sank a 
victim to climatic disease, and he had been, I have little 
doubt, specially depressed and ill-cared for. Although we have 
been so fortunate in losing only one European out of thirteen 
through disease, over a period of three years, I am, of course, 
unable to say whether succeeding generations are likely to 
continue healthy in tropical Africa. In Egypt, successive 
generations of Europeans do well ; and as Equatorial Africa* 
especially in the interior, is infinitely preferable in climate t& 
Egypt, I see no reason why they should not flourish here also 

The peculiar-looking baobab tree is very plentiful between 
Lake Victoria and Bagamayo. 

I have here tabulated a list of the principal varieties of 
African produce, on which ourselves and our men were 
obliged to exist during the greater part of the time occupied 
in trying to reach the shores of the Albert Nyanza. 

Plantains and Bananas. — The fruit of the " musa jpara- 
disiac% " and " musa sapientum " respectively : extremely 
nutritious, and are the staple food for many tribes in India, 
Africa, America, and islands of the Atlantic and Pacific 
Oceans; they formed the principal food of the members of 
the Expedition — black and white — for above two years ; they 
yield but one crop per annum. 

The Banana fruit is shorter, more circular, and a darker 
green than the plantain (in Kiswahili it is called " kipakusso "), 
otherwise there is very little difference, one from the other. 
Cultivated from remote time in tropical and subtropical 
climates, and require very little attention. When ripe, are 
sweet, viscid, and with a soapy mavvkishness ; for the starch 

2 i 2 



484 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

winch they contain becomes converted into mucilage and 
sugar. 

Plantain meal, obtained by powdering the dried fruit, is very 
sustaining food ; as it contains starch, and protein, or flesh- 
forming material. The chemical and nutritive composition 
of plantain is allied to that of potato, and that of banana to 
rice. The expressed juice, when fermented, makes a refreshing- 
acid liquor. The name yaradisiaca was given to distinguish 
banana from the plantain, which was supposed to be the for- 
bidden fruit of Scripture, or the fruit translated " grapes," which 
the spies brought to Moses from the promised land; each bunch 
of either fruit weighs about forty to sixty jDounds. The leaf is 
large, oblong, about five or six feet in length, with a prominent 
midrib used for thatch and domestic purposes — such as cooking, 
paper-making, &c. ; the expressed juice of the stem is used as a 
prophylactic for itching, and the midrib makes a stem to 
smoke tobacco through ; the foliage of banana is found repre- 
sented on ancient Egyptian sepulchres. 

Manioc, the tuber and leaves of maniliot utilissima (cassava, 
mohoga) ; various other roots, excrescences, and parasites. 

[I am indebted to Mr. Holmes, of the Pharmaceutical Society 
of Great Britain, for the following : — 

"Cassava, a mandioca meal, is yielded by two so-called species, which, 
however, "bear such great resemblance to each other that most botanists com- 
bine them. These are Moaiihot utilissima, Folil., the bitter cassavR, a 
shrubby plant growing from six to eight feet high or more, with erect some- 
what twisted knotty stems rising from long, thick, fleshy cylindrical roots of a 
yellowish colour, containing a poisonous milky juice, and bearing deeply 
seven-parted leaves on very slender stalks ; crowded together at the tops of 
the branches; M. aipi, Fold., the sweet cassava which differs principally in 
having sweet wholesome roots of a reddish colour and usually only five-parted 
leaves ; but these differences are not of specific value, and the plants must 
be regarded as varieties of one species. 

" It is quite clear, however, thai while the root of one is bitter and a most 
virulent poison, that of the other is sweet and wholesome, and is commonly 
eaten cooked as a vegetable. Both of them, especially the bitter, are most 
extensively cultivated over the greater part of tropical America, and yield an 
abundance of wholesome and nutritious food, the poison of the bitter kind 
being got rid of during the process of preparation it undergoes. This con- 
sists in first reducing the large fleshy roots to a pulp by grating them, the 
poisonous juice being then expelled by pressure, and the residual mass 
pounded into a coarse meal resembling bread crumbs, which is made into 
thin cakes or cooked in various ways, the heat dissipating any remaining 
poison. The poisonous expressed juice, if allowed to settle, deposits a large 
quantity of starch known as Brazilian arrowroot or tapioca meal, from which 
the tapioca of the shops is prepared by simply torrefying the moist starch 
upon hot plates, the heat causing the starch grains to swell and burst, and 



1889.] MANIOC. 485 

become agglutinated together. A sauce called ' Cassareep,' used for flavouring 
soups and other dishes, particularly the West Indian dish known as ' pepper- 
pot,' is also prepared from this juice by concentrating and rendering it harm- 
less by boiling." — Treasury of Botany, Longmans, 1876, p. 717-8. 

To this extract, the following additional notes may be appended. 

The poisonous property of the bitter cassava has been proved x by MM. 
Henry and Boutron Charlard, which, being a volatile poison, is driven off by 
the heat employed to dry the manihot cake, or to torrefy the starch into 
tapioca. The expressed juice, when concentrated by boiling to form the 
sauce known as cassareep, in like manner loses the prussic acid it contained. 
It is a curious fact with regard to this sauce, that it is stated to have anti- 
septic properties, so that cooked meat covered with it will keep much longer 
than if not so treated. 

The occurrence of prussic acid in one variety of this plant and its absence 
in another variety has a parallel in the almond tree ; the bitter almond con- 
taining prussic acid, whilst the sweet variety is free from it. It has, however, 
been stated, with respect to the sweet cassava, that the root does contain 
prussic acid, 2 but the poison can apparently be present only to an extent not 
injurious to life, since, according to Dr. Hamilton, the sweet cassava requires 
no other preparation than simply boiling or roasting ; and even admits of being 
eaten raw with impunity. 

The term cassava, cassada, or cassavi applied to these plants is, accord- 
ing to the same authority, a corruption of the original Indian name of 
cazabbi. 

The bitter cassava is grown on account of its lavger yield of tuberous roots,. 
and to prevent accidents it is generally grown in a separate plot from the 
sweet variety. 

I am informed by a lady, who resided in the West Indies, that the negroes- 
state that the poison resides in the rind of the root, and that the fleshy 
internal portion is used by them as an antidote. How far the antidote may- 
be of any use appears problematical. The occurrence of the poison only in 
the rind of the root, is, however, possible, for it is well known that in the' 
potato the poisonous principle solanine is almost, if not entirely, confined to 
the rind and the tissue forming the buds or " eyt-s." 

Dr. Peekolb, who has carefully examined the root, 3 finds prussic acid in all 
varieties of both sweet and bitter cassava, although present in smaller 
quantities m the sweet kinds. It does not exist as such in the root while it is 
in the earth, but is formed on contact of the root with atmospheric air, and 
its formation can be prevented entirely by immersing the fresh-dug root in 
alcohol. The power of forming prussic acid is greatest when the plant is 
flowering, and the plants richest in juice are usually the most poisonous. 
The cassava also contains, ready formed in the root, another volatile poison 
called manihotoxin, of which when extracted in crystals, five milligrams were 
sufficient to kill a full grown pigeon in five minutes. 

The antiseptic properties of cassareep are due to the presence of a third 
body named sepsicolytin or fermentation hinderer, and which is more abun- 
dant in the sweet root. It was obtained as a thickish light brown extract, 
having a peculiar odour and a bitter pungent taste. It is freely soluble in 
alcohol and ether, less soluble in cold water, and only partially in boiling 
water, and insoluble in chloroform, petroleum spirit, carbon bisulphide and 
essential oils. 

E. M. II.] 



1 Journ. de Pharm., xxii., p. 119. 

2 E. Francis. Journ. Roy. Agric. and Bot. Soc, Brit. Guiana, 187 
Pharm. Journ. (I.) v., p. 274. 

3 Pharm. Rundschau, iv., 148, 176, 201. 



486 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

Potatoes {Sweet). — We met with six varieties of this more 
familiar esculent. On the plains, beyond the forest and 
towards the Albert Nyanza, they were particularly sweet and 
good. 

Meat. — The Column shared, under different circumstances, 
the flesh of ox, goat, sheep, buffalo, giraffe, antelope, donkey, rat, 
monkey, fowl, and some minor etceteras ; the longest time 
without tasting meat was 121 days or 17f weeks. 

Fish. — A few, generally very small, like gudgeon, but those 
we got in the Albert weighed sixty pounds ; they were very 
muddy, and of the barbel variety. 

Insects, and other lower invertebrates. In the forest we 
partook largely of ants as a condiment : also locusts, slugs, snails, 
caterpillars, and lice. The last four were not eaten by whites. 

Reptiles. — Snakes flesh was declared by those who tried it 
to be very good; the savoury smell when cooking was 
extremely appetising. 

Cereals. — Indian corn, matammah, millet, sesame, rice. 

Forest beans. — These formed a fairly substantial article of 
diet; they are almost circular in section — extreme measure- 
ments, about four inches by three. The exterior is of a dark 
chestnut colour. They require to be scraped up thoroughly, 
as they are very hard. There is a depression at one end for 
the stalk, by which they are attached to the parent tree. 
The bean is about a quarter of an inch in depth ; the tree itself 
grows to a height of about 150 feet, 

Forest fruits, as the amomum, mabunga, the elephant fruit, 
and many others. 

Sugar-cane, brinjals, water-melons, peas, yams, pumpkins, 
hibiscus (to form a substitute for coffee). Coffee berries and 
chillies. 

Among European provisions were, tinned meats (very little) 
milk, butter, sugar, honey, biscuits, onions, tea, coffee, salt, &c, 
also some beverages, and articles of luxury, brandy, whisky, 
tobacco, &c. They were small in quantity, and did not reach 
far into the interior of the Dark Continent. 

The mboga or spinach, on which we mainly existed in the 
forest for many weeks, was a mixture compounded from the 
bruised leaves of different plants, six of which I will describe : 

1. A green serrated leaf — half an inch to four inches in 
length — on which Nelson and myself almost lived during 



1889.] VARIOUS EATABLES. 487 

our residence at Ipoto. The plant grows to a height of 
about seven feet, although most of the specimens which were 
used were only about two feet. The stem is green and 
succulent; the flower yellow, and like that of groundsel in 
appearance ; the stamens have a somewhat disagreeable 
rankish odour. It grows most luxuriously where there is 
abundance of filth ; and, accordingly, found a favourable bed 
in the vicinity of the Manyuema camp. 

2. MoJioga leaf. — This grows on a small tree about three or 
four feet in height, and one to four inches in diameter. The 
branches are very numerous, thin, and extremely brittle. It 
has a tuberous root which is also edible. The leaves are green, 
and each is furnished with four or five leaflets. The leaf-stalk 
is reddish in colour. 

3. Leaf of sweet-potato plant. — This plant grows in the form 
of a thin creeper running along the ground, and sometimes 
climbing the trunks of trees. The tubers — not unlike those of 
the English potato — are connected with the nodes. The leaf 
may be whitish; but is usually puce-coloured on the upper 
surface, and reddish on the lower. The creepers form a com- 
plete network over th.3 face of the soil, throughout a great part 
of the clearings in the forest. 

4. Leaf of the pepper -plant (chilli bush, or pislipsila). — 
This shrub grows to a height of about four feet — usually 
found in old clearings. It has numerous red pods, which, 
when dried and pounded, make the hottest " cayenne." The 
leaf is green, and makes a very good ingredient for spinach. 

5. A green leaf, with an elongated and sharply curved 
])oint. It grows on a short succulent stem. 

6. The leaves of the pumpkin. 

On these six ingredients, combined in varied proportions — 
but nearly always with a large preponderance of the first — 
Nelson and myself dragged out the greater portion of our 
existence at the Manyuema settlement. 

Our men, and especially the Zanzibaris, bore their trials of 
prolonged starvation with wonderful patience and forbearance ; 
they were always willing to share their scanty fare with their 
white companions. When things were at the worst, many of 
them lived almost without a trace of food for about eight or 
nine days, after which they rapidly sank. Fortunately the 
blacks regard death as a mere quietus to human suffering, the 



488 EXPERIENCES IX EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

emancipation of sense from the bitter bondage of physical 
agony, though skill and power may sometimes interpose 
between the tyrant pain and the trembling yictim. 

During our three months' sojourn at Ipoto, Xelson and 
myself sold all our spare clothes, and everything else we had 
of our own, to procure ourselves a little food. We also- 
bartered a few old mildewed coats and articles of under- 
clothing which had been consigned to Emin Pasha by the 
Egyptian Government : they were not of much value as 
wearing apparel ; but the brass buttons, with the crescent and 
star, proved attractive items in the eyes of our covetous 
hosts. 

When Jephson was returning from Ipoto to relieve Xelson 
and bring him up from " Starvation Camp," he found a number 
of the skeletons of the poor Zanzibaris, who had evaded the 
rear-guard, by dropping out on the line of march, and had 
then simply lain down and died of starvation ; for there was no 
means of transport then for either black or white. As I have 
already mentioned, they usually kept up with wonderful patience 
and fortitude till the powers of nature were almost completely 
undermined, when rapid collapse followed. One of the most 
affectionate memories which I have ever had reason to carry 
with me in life is that of the almost more than human kind- 
ness and faithfulness of my Zanzibari chief, Feruzi Ali ; who, 
as mentioned in a former page, died from the effects of a wound 
inflicted by a huge knife which fractured and depressed the 
vault of the cranium, and caused death by extensive com- 
pression and laceration of the brain substance. That man 
often gave me a full half share of his scanty meal of forest 
fruit, when the whole would have made but a poor repast for 
himself, and when he could not say whether he would be able 
to secure another morsel for days to come. Bitterly did I 
regret that what small skill I could bring to bear upon his- 
case was not efficacious in saving his life from the effects of 
the dreadful wound which the ambushed savage had just had 
time to iuflict upon him. 

When the starvation period was at its height, Stairs, 
Jephson, and myself, had our strength almost utterly ex- 
hausted by the continual repetition of the lifting of boxes on 
to the heads of our carriers, who dropped them from time to 
time to try and gather a little strength ; after which neither 



1869.] SUNSTROKE VERY UNCOMMON. 489 

they nor their comrades were able to replace them. Mr. Stanley 
led the way, and Nelson was behind. We found it somewhat 
hard to maintain strength or spirits under these circumstances. 
Many of the men, on putting down their boxes in this way, 
crawled for a little way into the bush, and lay down to search 
on the ground for fallen forest fruits, insects, &c, but — never 
rose again. It was a dismal time, poor fellows ; a dismal, 
dismal time ! 

My important medical experiences during the course of the 
Expedition have already been given in the previous pages. 
The trip from Zanzibar to the Congo's mouth lasted twenty- 
three days, and cost three lives only, which was by no means a 
high mortality, having regard to the crowded state of the 
vessel which we occupied, and the native repugnance to the 
laws of cleanliness and hygiene displayed by our blacks. The 
three deaths were respectively due to dysentery, pneumonia,, 
and insolation. 

Of pure dysentery during the whole remaining time of the 
Expedition I saw comparatively little ; the intestinal cases, of 
which there were very many indeed, were almost invariably 
general intestinal catarrh, or gastro-intestinal : with the usual 
symptoms of moderate fever, severe bilious vomiting, abdo- 
minal pains, &c, &c, with a great deal of mucous discharge, 
sometimes hemorrhage, and some straining, but little or no 
true tenesmus. Several cases of true dysentery also occurred 
during this voyage. 

The very exceptional occurrence of sunstroke in Equatorial 
Africa has also been repeatedly referred to. We had a good 
share of bronchial and pneumonic affections on board the 
Madura. They mostly occurred among the men who slept 
towards the starboard-side of the vessel, and near the heat of the 
boilers. The exposure to the morning chills after this toast- 
ing during the night, proved quite sufficient to develop chest- 
symptoms in those who were not naturally furnished witk 
more than the ordinary degree of vis vitse. 

A good deal of anxiety was developed by the occurrence of 
the case of small-pox on board the Oriental, and, as related in 
my diary for that date, I commenced to vaccinate almost imme- 
diately after leaving Zanzibar for the Congo. I had but a 
limited supply of lymph to utilise, but I vaccinated many 
from the vesicles of their comrades. I continued the ope- 



490 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

ration till all were vaccinated — excepting those who had 
recently had small-pox, or who had been deeply pitted by 
an old attack, or who showed well -pronounced marks of recent 
vaccination. Of the whole number vaccinated, only sixty-four- 
and-a-half per cent, of the cases were successful ; the remainder 
were either wholly unsuccessful, or developed but small abortive 
vesicles; although, in the refractory cases, I repeated the 
operation several times. These failures in vaccination are 
very common on both the east and west coasts of sub-tropical 
Africa. Dr. Hussey, of Zanzibar, told me that he had, not 
long before, used the contents oi six tubes which he had pro- 
cured from England, from which he had not succeeded in 
obtaining a single successful vaccination. This has been 
explained (and I have no doubt correctly), by competent 
hygienic authorities, as the result of the prevalence of the 
torrid Harmattan winds ; which dry up the lymph before it has 
time to be absorbed. I tried to make the best of my supply 
by moistening freely with a mixture of glycerine and water, 
and am disposed to attribute my comparative success to this 
treatment. The subsequent effects of the vaccination of these 
men were very gratifying indeed ; for, although exposed to the 
epidemic of small-pox at Banalya, in 1888 (when Mr. Stanley 
was returning with the remnant of the rear column), but four 
cases occurred among all our men, and all of them recovered ; 
while the unvaccinated 3Ianyuema all around them contracted 
the most virulent forms of the disease, and died in great 
numbers. 

Some accidents also occurred on board the Madura — incised 
wounds, a few fractures, crushed flugers (which required ampu- 
tation), and one severe case of compression of the brain. 

The Madura was registered to carry 750 passengers " 'tween 
decks," and this section of the vessel was exclusively reserved 
for our Zanzibaris, Xubians, and Somalis. Our total number 
was 803, including Tippu-Tib's party of ninety-eight (thirty-five 
of whom were ladies of his harem). Tippu-Tib and his followers 
occupied the foremost part of the ship, and second class ; the 
after part was given to the Europeans and the two interpreters. 
Tippu-Tib was frequent] y invited to come aft ; and, indeed, 
he often invited himself and the members of his Staff. One 
of the latter, his brother-in-law, spoke English very well ; 
had been to London and was intimate with the geography of 






1889.] TIPPU-TIB AND HIS STAFF. 491 

Hyde Park, the Marble Arch, &c, &c. : he also was at one 
time employed as Arabic interpreter to the British Force at 
Suakiru. Another member of the Staff of the " African Bis- 
marck " appeared to function as " Prime Minister." A third 
was certainly a kind of private chaplain : he was always mut- 
tering extracts irom the Koran, and perpetually running a 
string of beads through his fingers, each one of which cor- 
responded to a prayer of definite value. Tippu-Tib himself is 
a very remarkable individual in every way — of commanding 
presence, and a wonderful degree of natural ease and grace 
of manner and action. He stands nearly six feet in height, has 
brilliant, dark, intelligent eyes, and bears himself with an air 
of ultra-imperial dignity, without a trace of effort or affectation. 
He was always dressed in Arab costume, of spotless white. His 
wives carried his food and baggage. They were all well 
developed in every way ; most were fairly good-looking ; 
necessarily very dirty — as they never washed ; and very high- 
smelling. He must have married all these females for love, 
as none had any money, and they certainly had very little 
trousseau. 

The leading men of his Staff, although indifferent per- 
sonages to look at in presence of their chief, were also very 
graceful and dignified in their demeanour and movements. 
They were all devout Muslims. I could not help admiring 
the perfection to which they carried out their practice of 
dental hygiene. After every meal, and also in the intervals 
between, each of them carefully cleaned his teeth with a thin 
piece of wood, of which the end had, while fresh, been teased 
out into a flexible fibrous brush. The result was as perfect as 
could be desired. I have referred to the similar custom of the 
Zanzibaris. The latter prepared a fresh flexible piece of 
sapling for this purpose, by chewing the end, and then teasing 
out the fibres. 

Disinfectants were very freely used on board, and their 
employment greatly increased our comfort during the voyage ; 
without them the overcrowding of the blacks, and their want 
of attention to personal cleanliness, added to their naturally 
somewhat oppressive odour, would have made the place in- 
tolerable. 



492 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 

SUMMAKY OF MY PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 
WITH THE RELIEF EXPEDITION. 

My experiences from the Congo mouth to Stanley Pool — All of us have 
suffered some time or another from gastro-intestinal catarrh — Our sick 
left at Mataddi and Leopoldville — How to render manioc wholesome — 
Luxuriant forests of the Upper Congo River — Unpleasant times on board 
the Henry Reed while proceeding to Yambuya — Poisoned wooden spikes 
placed in the ground by the savages — Our march through the dense 
primeval forest — Camping-grounds and hut construction — Hornets' nests 
in the forest — Our food-supply on the journey to Lake Albert — Mr. 
Stanley assists me with valuable advice in the prevention and treatment 
of fevers — During the forest march, we are pestered by parasites, jiggers- 
and ticks — The removal of the arrow-head from Lieutenant Stairs' chest 
— Amputation of Juma's foot — Great mortality among the sick left at 
Ugarrowwa's Station — The terrible gangrenous ulcers — Nelson's Starva- 
tion Camp — Mr. Stanley presents me with a watch and chain — Histoiy 
of the same — Incident showing the loyalty of our Zanzibaris — Oar 
arrival at Bagamoyo — We are entertained by the local magnates, &c. — 
Accident to Emin Pasha — He develops broncho-pneumonic symptoms — - 
The Germans interfere with the Pasha's boxes — I am struck down with 
ha3maturic fever — Dr. Charlesworth's anxiety regarding my condition — • 
My former attack of liEematuric fever at Fort Bodo — My ill-fated friend 
Major Barttelot — Mr. J. S. Jameson and Mr. Bonny — Concluding remarks- 
about my three fellow-officers: Jephson, Nelson, Stairs — Our leader, 
Mr. Stanley — Welcome home — The end. 

We reached the Congo on the 18th of March, 1887, and 
there — when we were told by everybody that no steamers 
could be procured to convey us up river, as all those in that 
part of the world were out of repair, and one of them actually 
stranded on the beach before us — I had first an opportunity of 
estimating what our leader could accomplish in overcoming 
difficulties, when everything seemed to be against him. Details 
already published need not be repeated here. On the 21st 
we were at Mataddi, 108 miles up river, when the organization 
of our expedition was completed. During the seven days 
which elapsed, from the time we entered the Congo till we left 
Mataddi, we had five deaths ; the work was very severe, and, 
all performed under a burning sun. Of the fatal cases, one 



1889.] SUMMARY OF MY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES. 493 

was pneumonia ; two, bronchitis ; one, peritonitis (traumatic) ; 
and one sunstroke. Fourteen others were invalided here (at 
Mataddi) ; they suffered from fever (malarial), pneumonia, 
bronchitis, and dysentery. 

On the way from Mataddi to Stanley Pool, the marching 
was over an undulating, grassy country, with a few small 
forests here and there, and intersected by many deep and 
rapid streams. We had several heavy rainfalls during this 
period. The men suffered greatly on the march from sore- 
ness and tenderness of the feet ; some ulcers developed, and they 
had a good deal of fever — especially after wettings — either by 
crossing a stream, or being exposed to a drenching tropical 
shower. The Somalis proved especially vulnerable in this 
way; their native climate about Aden being very dry and 
sandy, the change of meteorological conditions was too abrupt 
and complete. 

As the Expedition proceeded across the Dark Continent, I 
believe every member, both black and white, suffered from 
attacks of gastro-intestinal catarrh. It was ushered in with 
moderate fever, violent bilious vomiting, cramps and straining, 
with copious diarrhoea. The tongue was deeply coated with a 
dry fur, which in bad cases, became almost quite black. The 
dejecta were charged with mucus, which was sometimes blood- 
stained. I had myself a very severe attack of this kind at 
Leopoldville, as noted in my diary at the corresponding date, 
and believe that I am in a great measure indebted for my 
chances of recovery to the kindness of Captain Liebrichts. 
He accommodated me with a comfortable clay hut to lie in, 
and sent me regularly a supply of cow's milk, of which I took 
two tumblersful daily. It constituted my only nourishment 
during this illness, and I must again pause to thank the 
benevolent donor for his kindly and opportune gift. 

At Mataddi, and at other stations on the way, the invalids 
were left behind with a supply of food and medicine ; and 
received directions to follow us as soon as they were able to 
continue their march. Under such circumstances, four Zan- 
zibaris were left with the English missionaries at Palaballa ; 
five with the American missionaries at Banza Manteka ; and 
two at the Lutete mission. One Zanzibari, in going down a 
steep hill, allowed his box to slip and crush the back of 
his neck. He complained of stiffness and soreness at the 



494 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

injured place afterwards, but developed no prominent symp- 
toms till after five days' further marching, when the phe- 
nomena of compression of the cervical spinal cord supervened ; 
paralysis of the trunk and limbs below the seat of injury was 
rapidly developed, and we were obliged to leave him behind 
in charge of some friendly natives, who were paid for food and 
nursing. 

On the way to Leopoldville, one Somali and one Zanzibari 
died ; another Zanzibari was shot dead by a native, and one 
more was wounded with some slugs. The Europeans, up to 
this date, suffered little or nothing from the malaria, as they 
had been periodically dosed with quinine on board ship, which 
certainly acted as an effectual prophylactic. Five other Zan- 
zibaris, declared "unfit," were left at (or near) Leopoldville. 
Accordingly, when leaving this station our loss in men had 
amounted to fifty-eight : — 



Deaths. 

On board the Madura . 3 

Up to Matadcli ... 5 

Beyond „ ... 3 



Invalids. 

AtMataddi. ... 14 

„ Leopoldville . . 5 

Between above stations 12 



Desertions 16 

Our supply of rice lasted till^we reached Leopoldville. On 
leaving this station, the food of our men was at once changed 
to manioc, which was purchased from the natives along the 
Upper Congo, as they understood barter. A necessary pre- 
caution must be adopted in the preparation of this article of 
diet. To make it wholesome food, the tuber must be soaked 
in water (frequently changed, or in that of a running stream) 
till the outer portion has undergone partial decomposition. 
This has the effect of getting rid of some deleterious principles, 
which if taken into the stomach, produce serious symptoms. 
Our Zanzibaris were instructed how to prepare the manioc for 
food; but with their usual recklessness and want of fore- 
thought, they were sometimes too lazy or careless to take any 
trouble with the tubers, and ate them raw. They always paid 
dearly for this folly, for they soon developed severe gastric 
pains, accompanied by vomiting — sometimes extremely violent 
— and blanching faintness, with other symptoms of prostration ; 
and were almost utterly unfit for work for a couple of days 



1889.] SUMMARY OF MY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES. 495 

afterwards owing to a feeling of syncope probably produced by 
the contained hydrocyanic acid. 

The Nubians and Somalis, who had never been accustomed 
to this kind of diet, suffered greatly in health when suddenly 
deprived of their accustomed rice food. 

The banks of the Congo, up to Bolobo, are in most places 
very thickly grown with bush, which extends in great 
luxuriance down even to the water's edge. There are besides, 
however, large tracks of grass-lands. Beyond Bolobo, there is 
nothing but forest. On the right bank of the Congo, opposite 
the junction -of the Kassai river, large herds of elephants 
may be seen wandering about, enjoying the undisturbed quiet 
of the primeval forest. One group I saw, which contained at 
least one hundred splendidly developed specimens. The 
foliage on the river's bank, as we passed up this region, was 
very dense and luxuriant. The neighbouring lands are very 
swampy, and abound in an extremely rich undergrowth. 
Fortunately for our comfort, there were no mosquitoes. The 
forest foliage is so dense that the sun's rays never reach the 
ground, and there is always a rank, " confined " odour of 
decomposing vegetable matter. 

There was great crowding on board the Henry Meed, on 
which I travelled most of the way ; and I felt thoroughly sick 
of the journey when I landed at Yambuya, on the 15th of June, 
1887. Tippu-Tib and his followers had all travelled in the 
Henry Heed. His women, as already mentioned, never washed ; 
and, accordingly, the odour of their haunts was more pungent 
than odoriferous. They always lounged and lolled about in 
the saloon, in a half-sickly, half-lethargic state ; but, if at all 
disturbed, would assert themselves and have their own way in 
everything. I collected all the heavy baggage (boxes, &c), 
which I could obtain, and carefully barricaded off one quarter 
of the saloon so as to protect myself, as far as possible, from 
the consequences of too close proximity ; but my efforts were 
not followed by a satisfactory degree of success. These 
relentless women would shove their legs through, between the 
boxes, so as to lie at full length ; and, sometimes, when a 
number of them felt the obstruction simultaneously, they 
would employ their united strength to push down my whole 
barricade, so that I was obliged to gather myself up into a 
corner, and even to cry out for mercy. I am not likely soon 



496 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

to forget the fragrance of these women ; or the sight of their 
numerous limbs protruding through my weak enclosure, 
exposed as far as the pelvis, and without any superfluous 
anxiety for the requirements of propriety or decency. I some- 
times tried the effect of pricking the aggressive limbs with 
pins, but their yells and snarling aroused the attention of 
Tippu-Tib, whose wrath at once descended upon me, so that 
I was obliged to abandon that mode of self-preservation. 

On the way from Leopold ville to Yambuya we had eleven 
deaths. One of these was from sunstroke, the others from 
fever or dysentery. Of the eleven men who died : five were 
Nubians, three Somalis, and three Zanzibaris. When at 
Yambuya, one of our Nubians, while out foraging, received 
a spear-wound, which penetrated the abdominal cavity, and 
soon proved fatal. One of our Syrian interpreters died of 
a very acute attack of dysentery. Up to this date all the 
white men had suffered more or less from malarial fever. At 
Yambuya, Stairs had fever of a typho-malarial type. The 
principal symptoms were of the usual enteric character, but 
the temperature range was distinctly that of malarial fever. 
On the morning we left Yambuya, his temperature was 104° F. ; 
he had to be carried — at first in a hammock, afterwards in a 
canoe — and he had still some weeks of severe illness before 
him, but afterwards made an excellent recovery. The men 
left behind at Yambuya were not the best men of the Expedi- 
tion ; a good many were weakly, and a large proportion had 
ulcers, but as they had all been strong and healthy, and 
specially selected before leaving Zanzibar three months pre- 
viously, I considered that, with rest and plenty of food, they 
should recuperate, and make as good men as any in the 
Advance Column. 

We were not far from Yambuya on our first march towards 
the Albert Nyanza, when two of our Zanzibaris were wounded 
by arrows, shot at them by hostile natives. Next day many 
of our carriers were very footsore, and several were wounded 
by " makonga," wooden spikes, which the vicious savages 
placed obliquely in the ground on the paths leading to their 
villages. Some of these penetrated the whole thickness of the 
foot from below, the point appearing on the instep. Some- 
times the point broke off short in the foot. Some of these 
makonga were made long enough to penetrate the abdomen 



1889.] SUMMARY OF MY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES. 497 

and break off short within its cavity), or even reach the spine. 
These longer ones were nearly always found at the end of a 
log, or fallen tree, along which we were obliged to walk or 
crawl, and from which we had to jump to the ground. In this 
position they were fearfully dangerous ; and it was very difficult 
to induce our poor, reckless Zanzibari carriers to take sufficient 
precaution to avoid the danger. There was always a spiral 
groove cut near the pointed end, so as to form a shoulder, and 
allow all the tapering portion beyond to break off easily after 
penetrating the tissues. 

We were now marching through dense primeval forests, in 
which we often passed several days without a glimpse of the 
sun, oppressed with the persistent odour of decomposing 
vegetation ; frequently wading through stinking, miasmatic 
swamps, and stagnant elephant pools ; often obliged to strip 
naked and wade, or swim, across rivers ; and afterwards sleep in 
damp clothes, which we were sometimes unable to dry for 
several days, as the sun's rays could not reach us. We were 
frequently obliged to sleep between wet blankets; all the 
officers had waterproof sheets, which we threw over a few 
leaves and branches arranged as a mattress. We usually 
made a fire near the door of the tent ; but, when the bush was 
very thick, and our men exhausted after the march, we were 
often unable to have a clearing made for the tents ; each of 
which occupied a space of eight feet square, and was tenanted 
by two officers. Afterwards, we were obliged to cut these tents 
into two, as they were very inconvenient, and the officers often 
had to separate when on foraging expeditions, &c. My water- 
proof coat had been lost by my boy Muftah — on the way up 
to Leopold ville ; and I often felt the want of it bitterly. Only 
Mr. Stanley and myself brought bedsteads, the others frequently 
had good reason to lament their absence. On various occasions 
we were tempted to pitch our tents in the comparatively clear 
space afforded by a hollow, or the dried-up bed of a shallow 
stream; and when the tropical rain descended in torrents — some- 
times not where we had encamped, but at a considerable dis- 
tance higher up — a flood would rapidly appear, and fill the 
whole space which, on the previous afternoon, we had thought 
so desirable for our encampment. We were frequently inundated 
in this way, not only with water, but with floating logs, and 
other rubbish, which were swept down upon us bv the torrent. 

2 K 



498 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

On such occasions we have had to stand in two and three feet 
of water in the morning, and fish for our boots, compasses, 
watches, &c, &c, and the officer in advance has had to move 
off at daybreak, without having been able to recover all his 
goods; when he would request the officer on rear-guard to 
try and fish up for him, before leaving, a compass, or boot, or 
any such article which still remained submerged. It was only 
when we reached a clearing that drying our clothes in the 
sun became possible. Very frequently the hindmost end of 
the Expedition could not get into camp for the night ; when 
officers and men were obliged to lie on the ground (around 
fires), without covering of any kind, till morning. 

When the men reached camp they commenced to make 
their huts, arranged in a circle around our tents— the latter 
forming the centre. The huts were open towards our tents, 
and the backs were made — as close and compact as could 
be managed — towards the forest, so as to protect the inmates 
from the arrows of unfriendly natives, and the attacks of wild 
animals. They always placed their rifles by their sides when 
lying down, so that they could jump up and seize them for 
self-defence at a moment's notice. On reaching the plains 
wood was not easily available, so that our men, instead of 
constructing huts of rectangular outline, as they used to do in 
the forest, found it convenient to adopt the beehive shape. 
They stuck canes or saplings in the ground, arranged to 
enclose a circle of seven or eight feet in diameter ; tied them 
at the top, thatched them with grass, and placed some logs or 
swinging stones on the latter, so as to prevent it from being- 
blown away by the wind. 

One of the most dreaded dangers of the forest was the 
hornet's nest. The stings of these vicious insects are horribly 
painful. Their nests are made of earth, and usually over- 
hanging a river; whenever such an object came in sight, the 
men always passed the word doo, doo, and if we succeeded 
in getting past in quiet and silence, there might be no 
molestation, but on the occurrence of any noise, the veno- 
mous pests swarmed out in myriads, swooped down upon 
the devoted members of our column, and stung them into 
a frenzy of agony and fear. The men dashed away their 
loads so as to enable them to escape as fast as possible from 
the dreaded enemy, and it always required some hours to 
reunite the column after the occurrence of such a visitation. 



1889.] SUMMARY OF MY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES. 499 

Our European provisions counted for very little from the 
time we entered the Congo; we had some rice, which was 
finished on the 16th of August, 18S7 ; and some ship biscuits, 
which had been exhausted during the previous month ; we had 
a small quantity of beef tea ; also a very little arrowroot, 
tapioca, sago, and some tea and coffee. The quantities of 
each of these were so trifling as not to be worth considering. 
Our food throughout was the same as that of the men ; and 
each officer was with his company wherever it went. Before 
the times became very bad, we had an occasional goat — one 
every fourth or fifth day, or so — and there was occasionally a 
little Indian corn, but the staple articles of diet of the whole 
Expedition were bananas and manioc, and on these we may be 
said to have existed for over two years. When we reached 
the plains we were able to procure meat ; and when Mr. 
Stanley returned from Yambuya (in December, 1888), he 
brought some extras with him, in the shape of European pro- 
visions, saved from the wreck of the rear column. 

In the forest, and also on the plains, the whites suffered 
very much from fever, probably 150 attacks each. I always 
insisted on our boys boiling the water which we used for 
drink, but found great difficulty in having my orders carried 
out. I always found Mr. Stanley very anxious and willing to 
have my suggestions fully adopted — in the prevention and treat- 
ment of fevers, in questions of general sanitation, &c, &c. He 
constantly gave me valuable advice, derived from his own long- 
experience of African life, and invariably did his best to assist 
me in carrying out my plans and arrangements. He never, on 
any occasion, blocked my wish by the interposition of relentless 
red-tape, the furnishing of useless and bewildering documents, 
or the intervention of despotic regulations. 

During our marches in the forest, at least half a dozen of 
our men came to me every day to have parasites removed from 
the nostrils, which clung tenaciously to the mucous membrane. 
They resembled sheep-ticks in size and shape. I suffered myself 
from the attacks of these pests, and found them very annoying. 
Tliey had to be removed with forceps, and were always filled 
with blood, sucked from the individual whose mucous 
membrane they had been draining. 

We also suffered from the presence of very small crab-like 
ticks, which usually attached themselves to the skin of the 

2 k 2 



500 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

legs, into which they succeeded in partially burying them- 
selves, so that they were very difficult to remove. We picked 
them out with the point of a knife, and found it troublesome 
to dislodge them even in this way. 

The ordinary body-louse was a constant attendant on the 
Expedition, especially during our forest life. 

The men frequently got jiggers in their feet, which gave them 
great annoyance during the early part of their forest march. 
They disappeared after we had passed Ugarrowwa's settlement. 

After July, 1887, food became scarce. The men had a con- 
stant repetition of two or three days' deprivation of all food, 
excepting the leaves, roots, fungi, and forest fruits which they 
might chance to pick up. Still, even in the most trying days 
of their starvation, our poor Zanzibaris were always willing to 
share a half of what they had picked up with their white officers. 

My next important professional experience was the arrow- 
wound, which Stairs received at Avisibba, the history of which 
has been fully detailed in its place. The arrow-head, which 
broke off when he attempted to remove it with his own hands,, 
made as it was of brittle, seasoned wood, and grooved spirally 
at a short distance from the point, remained imbedded in the 
wound for fifteen months. At first I would not make an 
exploratory incision to expose its position, as I considered 
such a procedure highly dangerous, and likely to do irre- 
mediable mischief, having regard to the seat of the wound. 
I then lost sight of my patient for some time, and on meeting- 
him again I found that the local uneasiness had diminished,, 
and that there was no serious constitutional disturbance. 
Accordingly, I felt confident that the foreign body would 
become encapsuled at the deep part of the wound by the 
inflammatory thickening, and, with a certain degree of caution 
in the movements of the trunk, would become less and less 
dangerous, while the broken end, towards the cutaneous- 
surface, would become gradually loosened by the discharge, 
and, after some time, easily removable. The event justified 
my expectations. He suffered wonderfully little inconvenience 
from the presence of the arrow-head after the first three weeks 
or so, and his natural pluck and energy were so great, that he 
would never shirk what he considered to be his duty. He 
always worked with his Company as if nothing was the matter ; 
he walked over 1000 miles with that arrow-head imbedded in 



GROUP OF RELICS. 



1. Decoration worn' on the Congo, made from 
teeth and cowries. 

2. Silver chain made from dollars by Emin 
Pasha's people. 

3. Iron axe-head made by natives in the forest 
for felling trees. 

4. Indiarubber tube from filter, through which 
Stanley received his nourishment while sick 
at Fort Bodo. 

5. Buttons and necklace made from shells 
found on the shore of Albert Nyanza, used 
by Emin Pasha's people. 

6. The first copper we met with, found at 
Mugwye's village, July 31st, 1887. 

7. Knives made by Dwarfs for peeling bananas. 

s. Five ivory hair-pins used by women in 
Emin Pasha's province. 



9. Decoration made by Gordon for his faithfuls 
at Khartoum. 

10. Six iron arrow-heads removed from Nubian, 
Christmas, 1888. 

11. Gordon's paper money issued by him during 
siege of Khartoum. 

12. Piece of Times which was wrapped round 
Emin's first letter, vide p. 216. 

13. Remington ammunition used by Emin 
Pasha's soldiers a gainst the Mahdi's forces. 

14. Fibre bangles used by the Dwarfs. 

15. Ivory bangle, a parting souvenir from a 
grateful Pigmy, vide page 464. 

16. My compass. 

17. Emin Pasha's letter received since I arrived 
home from Africa. 

18. Flint to light a fire, &c. 




GROUP OF RELICS. 



1889.] SUMMARY OF MY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES. 501 

iiis tissues, and in contact with the naked rib and pleura, 
including the memorable (and gloomy) march to and from 
Ugarrowwa's camp. I had preserved my last dose of chloro- 
form, with the intention of utilising it at a convenient season 
for the operation of extraction ; but it was not necessary when 
a quiet time occurred at Fort Bodo, as the arrow-head had 
become sufficiently loosened by the discharge to allow its 
removal without the use of an anaesthetic. All the others 
who were wounded at the same engagement died. I am happy 
to say that my dear friend is as well as if nothing of the 
kind had happened to him. I may mention that, in grateful 
recognition of the small attention I paid him, Stairs, after his 
return, brought his case under the notice of the military 
authorities by writing to them a full account of its history. 
The other victims of the poisoned arrow- wounds all sank with 
tetanic symptoms, which I was at first disposed to regard as 
traumatic ; but, as I afterwards learned by increased ex- 
perience, were merely symptomatic of the action of the poison. 

Another important case I had to treat was that of Juma, 
whose bullet-wound (and amputation of foot that followed) 
have been described under its date — 27th August, 1887. 
This man, being unable to march with the rest, was left 
behind at Ugarrowwa's, and having afterwards recovered 
health and strength, arrived at Zanzibar months before I did, 
.and was one of a number of grateful patients who came to 
meet me when I was brought there in December, 1889 ; in- 
valided by fnematuric fever, which was contracted while nursing 
Emin Pasha after his accident at Bagamoyo. 

When we reached the camp at Ugarrowwa's Station on the 
17th of September, 1887, all our Somalis were reduced to living- 
skeletons, whose bones were held together by skin and ligament 
— a deplorable sight to see. As these, and a good many of the 
Zanzibaris and Nubians, were totally helpless ; and as we were 
unable to drag them along with us on the march, Mr. Stanley 
made arrangements with Ugarrowwa's people to retain fifty- 
six of the worst cases at their camp ; to give them a chance, 
by rest and better food, of recovering some of their lost 
strength. Many of these poor creatures had no defined 
•disease, but were simply exhausted by the effects of starva- 
tion and exposure. Some had ulcers ; some had cardiac 
affections ; a greater number had pulmonary disease ; and a 



502 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

few were wasted by chronic dysentery. Of these fifty-six 
men, but twenty were found alive when relieved six months 
afterwards. All the Somalis had succumbed, and only four- 
teen of the whole number reached Fort Bodo with Stairs. 

As we pursued our course after leaving Ugarrowwa's, the 
principal medical feature of the Expedition was the terrible 
increase of the dreadful gangrenous ulcers, especially of the 
feet and legs, to whose existence I have so often had occasion 
to refer. Their increase, in number and virulence, was in direct 
proportion to the * privation which our men had to undergo. 

One of the most harrowing scenes I can ever expect to see 
in this world was our taking leave of Nelson as we moved 
off from his starvation camp ; a still more dreadful shock, 
if possible, was given me twenty-eight days afterwards, when 
I saw his wasted figure tottering into the Manyuema camp 
at Ipoto. The feelings which prevailed in our breasts when 
he and I wereleft behind there in the hands of those cannibal 
thieves I would rather not recall. They are not, however 
likely to be forgotten by either of us. 

When Mr. Stanley was leaving Ipoto, en route for the Albert 
Nyanza, he left with me for Ismailia, the Manyuema chief, his- 
gold watch and chain as a pledge to pay for the services of 
guides, who were to lead him out of the Manyuema territory - y 
as he had then no shells, beads, brass rods, cloth, or other form 
of African current money, wherewith to conclude the bargain- 
When he returned , to Ipoto, on his way to Yambuya to bring; 
up the rear column (20th June, 1888), eight months after, he- 
redeemed this watch from the Manyuema demons. When we 
had all returned to England Mr. Stanley presented me with 
the watch and chain, the former bearing the following in- 
scription :— 

TO 

SURGEON T. H. PARKE 

as a souvenir of 

fort bodo and ipoto, 

1887 and 1888, 

from his friend 

henry m. stanley. 

The date of the receipt of this gift marks 
one of the brightest hours of my life. 
There is no present which I could have valued more, or 




1889.] EMIN PASHA'S ACCIDENT. 503 

could have felt more gratified by receiving. I always wear 
this watch and chain now. 

On the occasion of leaving Ipoto, with the relief party under 
Stairs, an incident occurred which showed forcibly the loyalty 
of our Zanzibaris. Seven of the poor creatures were absent 
at the time of Stairs' arrival ; they were searching through 
the forest for leaves and insects, to help them to prolong their 
wretched existence. They did not return; and as nobody 
knew what had become of them, we were obliged to go with- 
out them. When they returned to the Manyuema camp and 
found that we had gone, they immediately started after us,, 
and dragged their weakly limbs, as best they could, through 
a very hostile country, till they reached Fort Bodo on the- 
3rd of March. They had but one rifle among them ; and 
they were in a dreadful state of debility, as it took them 
a full year afterwards to recover health and strength. I 
consider that this march indicated all the elements of 
true heroism and pluck, as well as extreme loyalty to 
their white leaders. Muftah, my gun-bearer, was one of their 
number. 

Having crossed the x\frican continent from west to east, we 
arrived at Bagamoyo on the 4th of December, 1889. The 
sight of the broad expanse of ocean called forth shrieks of joy 
from our impulsive Zanzibaris, which proved sufficiently in- 
fectious to be taken up even by the stolid, lazy, good-for- 
nothing Egyptians. My own eyes were not in good enough 
condition to enjoy the sight so much as I could have wished,, 
but I felt, perhaps, nearly as much as any. The bitterness of 
death was past, our slow and weary pilgrimage had drawn to a, 
close ! 

The local magnates, vice-consuls, &c. (English, Germans^ 
and Italians), welcomed us, and the Germans entertained us in 
the evening ; with the object of doing honour to the long-lost 
Pasha and the hero of his rescue. A brilliant congratulatory 
speech was made by Major Wissman, to which Mr. Stanley 
replied ; and Emin Pasha expressed his grateful appreciation 
of what had been done for him by Mr. Stanley and ourselves, 
as the representatives of British philanthropy, in an eloquent 
and highly-finished discourse. All went merry as a marriage 
bell. After this speech he walked round to the back of my 
chair, full of spirits, spoke something in my ear, and strolled, 



504 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

evidently in an absent and contemplative mood, through a 
doorway towards the window of an adjoining room. 

He had occupied one-storey dwellings only, for a period of 
fourteen years : it was not a time for sudden inquiry, or sus- 
picion of novelty; and, being excessively short-sighted, he 
simply walked through and was precipitated to the ground, a 
distance of about eighteen or twenty feet. He was at once 
conveyed to the German Hospital, where Dr. JBrehme and 
myself attended to him. The fall produced immediate 
unconsciousness. A couple of his ribs were fractured. His 
eyes were bruised, and the lids very much swollen, as he had 
fallen partly on his face ; and there was extensive subcon- 
junctival, as well as subcutaneous, ecchymosis. Blood oozed 
from both ears; so that, although I would fain think other- 
wise, there was much to say in favour of the diagnosis of 
extensive fracture of the base of the skull. He remained 
perfectly comatose for a time of nearly five hours, and the 
first word which he uttered, on partial recovery of the power 
of articulation, was " Parke." I was, naturally, a good deal 
affected by this indication of the impression I had made on 
my poor patient's feelings, and felt myself bound to him by a 
new tie of friendship. 

On the next day (Dec. 5) he was conscious, and able to com- 
plain of much soreness, all over the greater part of the trunk 
and limbs, from the contusions which he had received in his 
fall. So he could not attempt to make any voluntary effort. 
The oozing, now of rather serous character, continued from 
both ears. I collected a little of the fluid, and found, on 
testing with silver nitrate, that it was rich in chlorides. 

There was a great deal of swelling, and subcutaneous ecchy- 
mosis, of the eyelids and surrounding parts of the face ; so 
much so that examination of the eyes was difficult, and not 
very satisfactory. The pupils did not, however, display any 
marked inequality; and they responded to light, although 
with sluggish movement. 

On the 6th he was still better, and appeared perfectly 
conscious ; still the thin, blood-stained fluid continued to ooze 
from both ears. I kept him perfectly quiet, and applied cold 
lotions continuously to the bruised parts of the head and 
face. 

Next day (Dec. 7th) he rapidly developed broucho-pneu- 



1889.] EM1N PASHA'S CONDITION. 505 

monic symptoms, wliich prostrated him very quickly. He 
now required very careful nursing. The temperature went up ; 
and there were the usual accompaniments of rapid respiration, 
quickened pulse, furred tongue, dry skin, &c, &c. On the 8th, 
he complained of distress in breathing, and great restless- 
ness. 

On the 9th, he still continued dangerously ill ; and his 
symptoms were aggravated on hearing that his boxes had 
been opened, and their contents explored. It was distress- 
ing to see his agitation when he was told of the liberty 
which had been taken with his things ; and he said bitterly, 
" Did they think I was going to die ? " He requested me to 
collect his boxes — five in number — and his other loads, of 
which there were a few more ; and bring them to him, and 
have them placed under his bed. Accordingly, I applied for 
them to the commandant, Captain Kichalman, who handed 
them over to me, with their keys. The poor Pasha seemed 
furious at the idea of the Germans having opened his boxes, 
without having thought it necessary to trouble themselves 
about obtaining his leave, or speaking to me on the subject 
— which, he said, would have satisfied him, as I had been his 
companion on the march. I never heard from the Pasha if 
anything was abstracted from them. 

I gave Herr Schmidt a letter for Mr. Stanley, who was now 
at Zanzibar; having left Bagamoyo on the 6th, with the 
entire Expedition, excepting about twenty people : these were 
the Pasha's own servants, their wives and families, the Pasha's 
daughter Ferida, and her nurse (the wife of the engineer, 
Mohammed Effendi), who was most attentive to her sick master. 
Two German nurses, " Auguste " and " Helene," belonging to 
the hospital were unremitting in their kind attention. 

The night of the 10th was a bad and restless one, but the 
Pasha was, on the whole, a little better. On the 11th, this 
improvement continued ; but, curiously enough, the blood- 
stained discharge from the ears still continued to flow 
copiously. It did not disappear till about the twentieth day 
after the original injury. However, the Pasha developed no 
other serious complication after this date, but improved 
gradually. Dr. Brehme looked after him with me, and Dr. 
Latsche, of the German Navy, also gave his opinion. 

After three weeks attendance on Emin Pasha, I was myself 



506 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

suddenly struck down with an attack of malarial (hsematuric) 
fever, which rapidly assumed an extremely malignant type. I 
was conveyed to the French Hospital at Zanzibar, where I was 
placed under the care of my kind friend, Dr. Charlesworth, to 
whose skill and attention, together with that of the French 
nursing sisters, Antoine and the Reverend Mother Superior — 
clever, bright, and cheery as they were throughout the whole 
course of my illness — I feel that, so far as human skill can 
avail, I owe my present existence among mortals. 

Dr. Charlesworth completely lost all hopes of my recovery, 
and on one night, when I was at the worst, he summoned 
Mr. Stanley, and my brother officers of the Expedition, to see 
me breathe my last. Prostrate as I was, I was conscious of 
their presence ; and I have a vivid recollection of Mr. 
Stanley's going over to the window and opening it, after he 
had been in the room for a couple of minutes. He is always 
ready to make a suggestion, and I felt deeply grateful for 
his action on that occasion, although I was too weak and 
apathetic to have any feelings on the subject before it was 
done. I was far too much prostrated by this attack to make 
any attempt to analyse or to record the course of my own 
symptoms. My clearest remembrances on the subject are 
connected with the fact that, during this illness, I practically 
lived upon iced champagne ; and my sense of taste was never 
so completely benumbed as to prevent me from appreciating 
it. After three long years of indulgence in the sipping of 
stagnant, fetid, tepid, typho-malarial African water, the pro- 
motion to the enjoyment of such nectar as this was almost 
worth the illness which confined me to its use. To the leader 
of our Expedition, and to my brother officers, I owe a life-long 
debt of gratitude for their kind attention and assiduous care 
during my worst hours of sickness. To Sir Ch. Euan-Smith ? 
K.C.B., and Lady Euan-Smith, I also feel that I can never 
return sufficient thanks for the kindness which I received at 
their hands. 

When my leader and companions were leaving Zanzibar for 
Cairo, I would not be left behind ; so that, as I was quite 
unable to stand, I was carried from the hospital to the steamer 
by a detachment of blue-jackets, who were kindly detailed for 
that purpose by Captain Brackenbury, R.N., in charge of 
Surgeon Beatty, R.N. I was still very poorly, indeed ; and 



1889.J BETUBN HOME. 507 

never slept more than about one hour or so each night till I 
arrived at Cairo, on the 16th of January, 1890. 

When I was parting with Emin Pasha, he said that he 
would certainly follow in the next steamer (about a week 
later) to Cairo ; and I feel quite convinced that he then 
intended to do so. He was quite well able to travel ; and I 
feel certain that if I had not sickened at the time he would 
have come with us then. He was anxious to have the 
cataracts removed from his eyes, as his left eye was almost 
blind ; and it was quite arranged that I was to assist at the 
operation. But all that was changed, and I have had but one 
letter from him since. 

During my stay at Cairo, rest, good food, good air, the 
absence of any pressing anxieties, and the presence of very 
many kind friends and acquaintances assisted in my gradual 
return to strength. 

This attack (of hsematuric fever) is the only one of really 
deadly nature which I have -suffered during my comparatively 
prolonged experience of African life. My senses were so 
benumbed — as is usually the case in fevers of a very malignant 
type — that I did not feel very acutely any of my own symp- 
toms at the time, and, accordingly, my personal recollections of 
them are by no means vividly impressed on my memory. It 
must, however, be recognised as one of the most formidable of 
the enemies which the traveller may be called upon to en- 
counter when he dives into the depths of the Dark Continent. 
Still, when occurring in a person whose physique has not 
already been lowered very much by prolonged exposure and 
hardships, and who has been guarded by the usual remedies 
employed in the prophylaxis of malaria, I have no reason to 
think that the prognosis must be regarded as by any means so 
grave. The sad history of the collateral circumstances explains 
only too clearly how it was that my poor friend Jameson was 
so well prepared to fall a victim to its attack. In my own 
case, the history of our expedition, and the fact that our stock 
of quinine had fallen short in the latter months, sufficiently 
explain how it was that the disease found me in so vulnerable 
a condition. 

In my former attack of ksernaturic fever (at Fort Bodo) 
there was, in addition to the high fever, with comparatively 
slight intermissions, hepatic tenderness and enlargement, 



508 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

copious and long-repeated vomiting of viscid, bile-stained 
fluid, very pronounced jaundice, and a large proportion of 
both blood and bile in the renal secretion. In the second, 
and more severe, attack (at Zanzibar), all the above-named 
symptoms were present in a still more accentuated form, with 
the single exception of the presence of the characteristic 
biliary constituents in the renal secretion. This occurrence of 
jaundice, with yellow vomit and bile-stained evacuations, but 
without icteric renal secretion, has also been recorded by other 
observers, and its explanation has given rise to a good 
deal of discussion among scientific pathologists. It is un- 
doubtedly rare to find an excess of bile discharged by the 
alimentary canal and jaundicing of the tissues existing at the 
same time, without the appearance of a corresponding propor- 
tion of bile-pigment from the kidneys. The staining of the 
tissues cannot in such cases be explained in the same way as 
that occurring in all the more usual varieties of jaundice — with 
or without obstruction — whether, with Budd and Harley, we 
admit the pre-existence of the bile-pigment in the blood, from 
which it is merely separated by the liver ; or, with Frerichs 
and Lehmann, totally deny this assumption. Accordingly, 
I am disposed to accept— as the only reasonable way of 
accounting for this remarkable pathological anomaly — the 
suggestion offered by Surgeon-Major Firth, Army Medical 
Staff, that the discolouration of the tissues in such cases is due 
to alteration of disintegrated blood-pigment, and therefore 
comparable to the well-known staining which occurs during 
the absorption of extravasated blood from an ordinary bruise. 
A special organism has been described by Marchiafava and 
Celli in the blood of malarial patients, which resides during its 
embryological stage in the red blood-corpuscles, the structure 
of which it gradually destroys ; setting free the colouring 
matter (haemoglobin) in the form of minute, dark, pigment 
granules, which are then found floating about in the plasma, 
or are swallowed up by the colourless corpuscles (leucocytes). 
These granules easily escape through the capillary walls — 
cither with the plasma itself, or imbedded in the leucocytes — in 
the ordinary process of diapedesis. Their subsequent chemical 
changes satisfactorily account for the discolouration of the 
various tissues which takes place in those extreme cases where 
an enormous amount of the organisms in question may be 



1889.] ARRIVAL AT CAIRO. 509 

supposed to be present in the circulation. This hypothesis 
also accounts for the hsematinuria (or hemoglobinuria), and 
is the only one I know of which will reconcile all the 
phenomena. 

From the date of reaching Cairo, the only thing which 
tended to retard my convalescence was the over-pressure of 
the more than cordial hospitality which we received there. 
We were welcomed by representatives of every civilised 
nation, and our leader and his officers were all made to fee] 
that our long exile in the depths of Africa had by no means 
caused us to be forgotten by those whose sympathies were best 
worth preserving. 

And now my long-drawn narrative narrows to its close. I 
have given, in a plain, unvarnished tale, the principal im- 
pressions made upon me, at their respective dates, by what I 
saw, heard, and felt during the quest and rescue of the lost 
governor of the Equatorial province. I hope, with some 
degree of confidence, that the record so given will help to 
demonstrate to the impartial critic that, taking into account 
the privations and hardships to which we were subjected, there 
were as few lapses from duty during the conduct of the Emin 
Pasha Belief Expedition as have occurred in that of any other 
historic task of corresponding difficulty and magnitude. Of 
my leader and brother officers I retain no recollections but the 
warmest ones of kindliness and gratitude. My ill-fated friend 
Major Barttelot, who was the direct agent of my introduction 
to the Expedition, was one of my brightest and pleasantest 
companions during the early months of its course. Although 
possessed of a rather ungovernable temper, he was always a 
very jolly comrade, when not depressed or irritated by the 
effects of sickness or worry ; and the only thing which tended 
to neutralise his usefulness in the post assigned to him by 
Mr. Stanley was his pronounced antipathy to the black man. 
Had he been more fortunate in his choice, and not joined our 
Expedition, his energy and undoubted bravery would probably 
have secured for him a brilliant soldierly career. The only 
other white officer who lost his life on the Expedition, Mr. 
Jameson, was always quiet, most gentle, cheerful, and amiable 
to a degree. He was continually referring in the most 
affectionate terms to his home ties, and saying to each of us 
what a pleasant time we would have in his villa on the 



510 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

Thames, when the trials and troubles of the rescue of Emm 
Pasha were all well over. I entirely disbelieve that James 
Sligo Jameson was capable of any act of deliberate cruelty. 
Although his own letter is compromising, yet its candour is 
significant. It is a maxim to speak only well of the dead, 
and to leave untouched all that is unpleasant concerning 
them ; but of Jameson I never knew but good. 

[Extract from an official Eeport of the Commandant of 
Bangala, received at Head Quarters, Brussels. 

The date of Mr. Jameson's death is August 17, 1888. Mr. 
Jameson had arrived in a canoe on the 16th of August, in a 
state of complete exhaustion. According to his men he 
suffered for eight days from a hoemorrhagic fever and had 
taken neither food nor medicine since leaving the Lumami 
River. On his arrival Jameson's condition only became worse, 
and he died without having been able to make known the motive 
which induced him to descend the Congo. 

It appears from the researches made by Mr. Ward among 
the papers of the deceased, that the Expedition could only be 
resumed under an Arab chief, to lead the Manyuema : that 
there were only three men capable of fulfilling this task, viz., 
Raschicl, The son of Tippu Tib, and Tippu Tib himself. The 
first would not undertake it, the second was absent, and Tippu 
Tib demanded £20,000 without any guarantee, and not includ- 
ing the salary of the men. Mr. Jameson had personally 
guaranteed this sum, and went to Bangala to seek Mr. Ward 
and the remaining despatches. 

The letter from the Kesident at Stanley Falls says that the 
motive of Mr. Jameson's descent was to learn the contents 
of the despatches of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, of 
which Mr. Ward, who remained by order at Bangala, was the 
bearer. 

The papers and effects of Mr. Jameson have been sealed and 
an inventory made by Mr. Ward under the supervision of Mr. 
Ehamis, to be forwarded to Mr. Mackinnon.] 

Of the other officers connected with the ill-fated Rear 
Column at Yambuya, I have never yet seen Mr. Rose Troup, 
and Mr, Ward I saw once only, and for a very few minutes, at 
Mswata, near Stanley Pool. Mr. Bonny, who afterwards joined 
us at Fort Bodo, must have had an extremely difficult time of 
it at Banalya ; where he was the only European officer left, and 



1889.] MY COMPANIONS. 511 

placed under the most trying circumstances. He certainly did 
very good work for the Expedition, by waiting and keeping 
the remnant of the Kear Column together until Mr. Stanley's 
timely arrival ; when only seventy-seven living skeletons re- 
mained out of 176 Zanzibaris, Nubians, and Somalis ; and one 
European out of five. Mr. Walker and Mr. Ingram were only 
required on the Congo. 

When I come to the names of those men with whom 
I have been more intimately associated — for a longer time 
and through darker trials — I may, I hope, be pardoned if, 
in bidding them farewell, my feelings tend to bubble over 
a little. Of the three officers of the Expedition who, 
besides myself, followed our leader through thick and thin 
across the African Continent from the start: Mr. Arthur 
Mounteney Jephson, Captain Eobert Henry Kelson, and Lieu- 
tenant William Grant Stairs,* the former was long separated 
from his fellow-officers, and has already told the story of his 
experiences in the Province of Equatoria, in a way which has 
enlisted the sympathies of the English-speaking world. He 
was known to his brother officers as a genial companion ; and, 
in the performance of his duties, energetic and thorough to 
the last degree. I have often seen Jephson do a day's march, 
entailing heavy work and a great deal of worry, while his 
temperature during the whole time ranged between 105° and 
106° E. Nelson, whose trials and experiences were most 
intimately associated with my own, suffered far more than any 
of us. His being incapacitated by ulcers and debility led to 
his being left behind in the horrible " Starvation Camp," the 
mention of whose name will probably always send a thrill 
through each surviving officer of the Advance Column of the 
Emin Pasha Belief Expedition. His sufferings at Ipoto, 
while he had not a bony prominence, on which he could sit or 
lie, that was not occupied by a bed-sore, would bear com- 
parison, I think, with those of many famous martyrs ; and 
were certainly borne with a degree of moral strength and 
heroic fortitude which I never expect to see surpassed. Stairs 
was always a great favourite with his men ; he was very 
determined in action, but prudent and cautious — beyond his 
years; a true and kind-hearted friend, whose memory will 
always be dear to those who worked with him in the dark 

* Now Captain. 



512 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

hours of trouble. He did a great deal of laborious and 
anxious work during the fifteen months in which he carried 
nearly two inches of arrow-head imbedded in his chest-wall. 
He remained, however, fairly strong all through, except in his 
febrile attacks, which were numerous and rather severe. And, 
having thus dropped a few concluding remarks about each of 
my fellow-workers, I have only, in saying to one and all a 
long good-bye, to add the heartfelt wish that the paths of life 
of each, however widely divergent from one another and from 
mine, may be strewn with the rewards which we hope should 
accompany the thorough performance of all honourable duty ; 
and that distance, of space or time, will never alter the opinions 
and feelings which we have hitherto held of, and towards, one 
another. 

In saying farewell to the leader whose sagacious forethought 
and unflinching determination carried us through a series of 
difficulties which, I believe, no other living man would have 
been able to battle with so successfully, feelings of a still 
more varied character are, necessarily, called into existence. 
The diverging criticisms of his personality and of his leader- 
ship, to which the public have been so unstintingly treated, 
make an estimate of Mr. Stanley a very bewildering task 
without the opportunity of a long personal experience. His 
terribly direct way of saying what he means usually grates at 
first on the feelings of people who have been chiefly accus- 
tomed to the polite society of drawing-rooms. The fact that 
he never gives unqualified praise, and that he frequently 
commanded almost impossible tasks, the performance of which 
had to be undertaken at a moment's notice, often made his 
officers regard him as a hard taskmaster. Yet the longer we 
worked with him, the more we liked him ; and no code of govern- 
ment regulations or of army discipline could have made both 
officers and men treat a leader with greater respect and con- 
fidence than those which were felt by all of us towards Henry 
M. Stanley. When difficulties and hardships came thick and 
fast upon us and around us, there was something approaching 
the sublime in the strength with which the iron will of our 
leader enabled him to oppose, and in the readiness of resource 
with which he was so frequently able to overcome, or elude 
them. Personally, I often, in the earlier months of our 
march, thought him unsympathetically reticent, or unreasonably 






1889.] HOME AGAIN. 513 

suspicious ; yet there was not a single fault which. I was dis- 
posed to find of which I did not afterwards see ample reason 
to modify my opinion ; or which did not seem to be useful, or 
even necessary, in the management of the Expedition which 
he had undertaken to lead under such self-sacrificing con- 
ditions. To say that he was ever needlessly cruel or tyrannical 
is absolutely untrue : the beatings inflicted on the carriers 
which have furnished so much material for comment to the 
Aborigines' Protection Society, and other bodies of equal 
experience, were only such as were absolutely necessary to 
maintain the discipline on which the very existence of the 
Expedition, and of its officers, depended. The impulsive 
Zanzibaris, on feeling tired, have a terrible penchant for de- 
sertion, taking their rifles with them, especially if in a neigh- 
bourhood from which there is any chance of escaping home ; 
and the rigid discipline which Mr. Stanley maintained during 
the earlier part of our march across the continent was the only 
safeguard which protected the Expedition from total wreck, 
and saved the white officers from leaving their bones bleaching 
under the African sun. As Wellington truly said, " Punish- 
ment is cruel — nothing so inhuman as impunity." The best 
evidence of our confidence is, I think, the fact that he is the one 
man whom his former officers would again follow in such an 
Expedition ; and he certainly is the only living person whom, 
after our previous experience, we should elect to lead us. To 
say that Mr. Stanley has any natural inclination to treat the 
native African cruelly is as far from the truth as any statement 
that could well be made ; on the contrary, he was always 
inclined to favour the black man in preference to the white. 
Even when lying on the brink of the grave at Fort Bodo — 
and I have never seen anyone recover who was nearer death — 
his courage never failed ; and the small incident of his carry- 
ing the five bottles of champagne all the way to the Albert 
Nyanza to drink Emm Pasha's health — without Jetting any 
one know of their existence but himself, although the use of 
them for his own case might have been the means of rescuing 
him from the jaws of death — forms, I think, as good an index 
to the character of our chief as anything in his history with 
which I have become acquainted. We all felt that with 
Mr. Stanley's qualities the success which has attended bis 
remarkable career in life was reduced to a necessity ; and the 

2 L 



514 EXPERIENCES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. [1889. 

closing wish of this volume, which records my experiences oi 
him as a leader, is that he may live long and happily to enjo] 
and increase it. 

I have finished my story. 

We left in high spirits for the homeward journey, in whicl 
we passed through Italy and France to receive the more thai 
princely hospitality of Their Majesties the King and Queen oi 
the Belgians, and the truly cordial welcome of the whoh 
Belgian nation. Starting from Cairo on the 7th April, 189( 
Mr. Stanley and myself (Nelson, Stairs, and Jephson having 
]eft before us on the return voyage) proceeded to Alexandria 
and embarked for Brindisi on the evening of the same dai 
A large and enthusiastic crowd awaited to bid us " God speed,' 
and to cheer us as we passed along : nature smiled on us 
through a clear and perfectly calm atmosphere ; and we 
waved, as we moved away from land, a farewell salute to 
the shores of the continent, from the unexplored interior of 
which each one of us had, I believe, at some period of the 
Expedition, lost all hope of returning. 

" The work is over, the sojourn done. 
Fare thee well, thou land of the Sun ! " 



FINIS. 



INDEX. 



Abdullah, Chief, 364. 

Abdul Wahud Effendi, 418, 453. 

Abed Bin Salim, ivory hunter, 104, 
124, 155. 

Aborigines' Protection Society, 268, 
513. 

Abu Klea, machine guns at, 359, 360. 

Accidents ; to one of Tippu Tib's men, 
25-27, 33; crushed finger, 27; 
hatchet wounds, 35, 64. 

Achmet Bin Sulieman, 436. 

Aden, 11-13 ; the Somalis and, 40, 59. 

Advance, the steel-boat, 37, 43, 58, 
69, 75, 76, 78, 87, 103, 107, 113, 
116, 117, 119-121, 126, 127, 134, 
140, 192-194, 197, 210, 217, 218, 
223. 

Aerobic microbes, 171, 172. 

Africa, fever in, 355-357, 366. See 
also Malarial fever. 

A.I.A., s.s., 363. 

Albuquerque, s.s., 31. 

Albert Edward Nyanza, 439-448, 
455. 

Albert Nyanza, Lake, 197 ; start for, 
207 ; . Emin on, 213, 214 ; croco- 
diles in, 218 ; 220, 221 ; the Zanzi- 
baris and, 253 ; third march to, 
337-347 ; 425, 432 ; water of, 441. 

Aldershot, sunstroke at, 33. 

Alexander (interpreter), 68. 

Alexandria, vii, ix, 2-8. 

Alexandria Nile, 457, 460, 461. 

Ali Bin Said, 354, 355, 447. 

Ali Effendi, 421, 423, 424. 

Ali Nyadi, 436. 

Altamont, Perim Island, 11. 

Amani, boy, 237, 238. 

Amoeba, the, 165-166, 231. 

Amputation of Mohammed Doud's 
finger, 10-11 ; Juma's foot, 100- 
101, 501. 

Amur, Sheban Bin, 253. 

Anaerobic microbes, 171. 



Ango-Ango, 32. 

Animalculse, see Microbes. 

Animal life, bacteria and, 175-176. 

Ankori, county of, 448-460. 

Antari, King, 449-451, 457-459. 

Antidotes for arrow poison, 307, 313- 
315, 319. 

Ants, an army of, 78, 98, 99, 155- 
156 ; pounded as food, 155, 156, 
254, 324 ; column of, 187 ; at Fort 
Bodo, 254, 272, 279, 366, 367. 

Arabs and powerful odours, 137. 

Arms; spears and shields, Upper 
Congo, 57, 63 ; weapons of the 
Balegga, 219; knife, 119; tower 
muskets, 425, 451, 452 ; arrows in 
Toro district, 447. See also Arrows. 

Arnold's " Light of Asia," 151. 

Arrows, poisoned, 73, 96, 97 ; at 
Avisibba, 90-94; iron, 210-211, 
219, 228, 237 ; Baluzi and, 248- 
249 ; found near Fort Bodo, 251, 
252, 281, 321, 339-343; 390,391, 
433, 496; extraction of arrow-head 
from Lieut. Stairs, 287, 292-297, 
500, 501 ; preparation of, 300-307 ; 
paper on, 308-319. 

Aruwimi River, 63, 64 ; at Yambuya, 
69; we follow the, 76-116; and 
Nepoko, 100 ; and Ituri, 116-117 ; 
fish baskets of, 326. 

Ascaris lumbricoides, 271, 273. 

Asmani (Zanzibar!), 120, 267. 

Assad Farran (interpreter), 39, 361. 

Atoso camp, 434. 

Avisibba, fight at, 90-94 ; poisoned 
arrows at, 301, 313 ; Stairs' wound 
at, 500-501. 

Awash Effendi, 418. 



Bacillus anthracis, the, 164. 
Bacillus, microbes, 167, 169, 172, 
174. 



516 



INDEX. 



Bacillus, the " comma " and cholera, 
356-357. 

Bacteria in rainwater, 385 ; in stag- 
nant water, 387. 

Bacteriology, a study of, 161-179 ; 
231, 283. 

Baert, Lieut., 34, 57, 58. 

Bagamoyo, 503-506. 

Bakamuggar, blood brotherhood be- 
tween Parke and, 429-430. 

Baker, Sir Samuel, and Lake Albert, 
425-426. 

Balegga tribe, 220. 

Baluk (Manyuema), 369. 

Baluzi wounded, 247-250. 

Balyozi Chief, 104. 

Panalya, 335, 339, 363, 364 ; small- 
pox at, 489. 

Banana flour, 322. 

wine, see Pombe. 

Banana Point, 31, 32. 

Bananas, 89, 112-115, 237, 248, 251, 
266, 269, 277, 299, 321, 338, 340- 
343, 416, 433, 434, 459, 483-484. 

Bangala Station, 57, 58, 362, 364. 

Hanza Manteka, 35, 37. 

Baobab tree, 483. 

Baptist Missionaries, at Lutete, 42 ; 
at Lukolela, 54, 56. 

Baraka, Songora, 454. 

Bargash, S., Sultan of Zanzibar, 108. 

Bari tribe, rain-makers in, 221 ; and 
syphilis, 401. 

Barttelot, Major, 1-2, 11, 17, 33, 39 ; 
and Uledi 41 ; and Soudanese, 43 ; 
and s.s. Stanley, 45-46 ; illness of, 
48, 51 ; on Henry JReed, 57-58 ; 
and rear column, 66; arrival at 
Yambuya, 67-69 ; good-bye to, 
72; numbers of rear column, 73; 
letters to, 110 ; 335, 338, 341 ; and 
rear column, 360-365 ; 509. 

Baruti, Stanley's boy, 13, 63, 65, 66. 

Basoko, tf3, 64, 66. 

Bavira tribe, 216, 217. 

Beans, brown, 118, 486. 

Beatt} r , Surgeon, 506. 

Beauchamp, M., and microbes, 168. 

Bembezi River, 35-36. 

Beresford, Lord C, viii, ix, 359. 
Berkeley, Miss, and African fever, 
479, 480. 

Bernard, Claude, and poisoned 

wounds, 295. 
Beyts, Mr., 9. 
Bhang (Indian hemp), 106. 
Billroth and bacteria, 169, 178. 



Biogenesis, the doctrine of, 164-166. 

" Black Kiver," 56. 

Blood brotherhood, rite of, Stairs anc 
the chief ofUpoto,60 ; Jephson and 
Mazamboni, 213 ; Parke and Baka- 
muggar, 429-430; Stanley and 
Prince Ankari, 459. 

Bolobo, 53, 495. 

Boma, 32. 

Bones, bleached, at Lamu, 16-17. 

Bonny, Wm„ 9, 14, 49, 53, 69, 241, 
335-339, 341, 343, 347 ; account 
of events at Yambuya with rear 
column, 360-365 ; and fever at tacks, 
415, 438, 446, 447, 455, 458, 460, 
461, 474 ; at Kavalli, 375 ; 429, 431, 
510. 

Boots, at Fort Bndo, 257, 330. 

Brackenbury, Capt., 506. 

Brain, concussion of, 25, 27, 33 
compression of, 120, 121. 

Bread-making in Equatoria, 413. 

Brehm, Dr., 504, 505. 

British Medical Association, 339, 340.. 

Bronchial affections, 30, 33. 

Bronchitis, 32, 34. 

"Bryce's test" for vaccinate >n, 29. 

"Bula Matari" (Mr. Stanley), mean- 
ing of, 61. 

Bulemo-Riugi, King, 447. 

Bundi, camp at, 221. 

Bunyambiri, 423. 

Burial service of Zanzibaris, 31. 

Burial custom, of Aruwimi natives,. 
90 ; in African forest, 307. 

Burroughs and Welcome's tabloids,. 
202, 357-358. 



Cairo, 4-7, 507, 509, 514. 
Cameron, Sir Clias., and Mkiyo 

water, 442-3. 
Camwood, 59. 

Candles, manufacture of, 417, 482. 
Cannibal regions, Upper Congo, 61]; 

remains of a — banquet, 84 ; the 

dwarfs are, 187, 189, 268, 398. 
Cannon, pieces of, at Mombasa, 17. 
Canoes, of Upper Congo natives, 63 ; 

of natives on the Aruwimi, 78,. 

100 ; paddles of, 102. 
Cape Town, 26, 27. 
Casati, Capt.. 216, 223, 224, 374, 

390, 396, 404, 416, 431, 453. 
Cassava, 379 ; description of, 484-485.- 
Castor-oil plant, 199-200. 
Cat, the holy, at Tel Basta, 8. 



INDEX. 



517 



Cattle, 216, 217, 371, 372, 377, 390, 

441, 443, 456. 
Cemetery at Bauana Point, 31. 
Cereals, 486. 
Cerebral disease, 59. 
Charlesworth, Dr., 506. 
Chikivanga, native bread, 46, 75. 
Chills, nocturnal, in Africa, 349-350, 

453, 457 ; at Ankori, 477. 
Cholera in Egypt, viii, 356-357. 
Cigarettes, General Cordon and, 390, 

391. 
Circumcision ; in Arrica, 257 ; Mon- 

buttu tribe and, 400-401. 
Clarke, Mr. and Mrs., 34. 
Cloth, made of grass, by Manyuema, 

157, 220 ; cotton cloth, made by 
Emin's people, 228 ; in Ankori, 451. 

Coccus microbes, 167, 169. 

Coffee, 459. 

Cohn and microbes, 164. 

Condiment, made of pounded ants, 
155, 156, 254, 324. 

Congo-la-Lemba, 35. 

Congo river, 31 ; banks of, 32 ; first 
cataract of, 43-44 ; and Kwa 
river, 51 ; at Bolobo, 54 ; vegeta- 
tion on banks of, 55 ; junction with 
Aruwimi, 63 ; tributary of, 56 ; 
natives on the, and transmission of 
voice, 212 ; Lower — , charm doctor 
in, 221; fish baskets of, 326; 
waters of, 386 ; 492-496. 

Congo Free State, 395 ; officials, 32, 
34, 44. 

Conjunctivitis, 280. 

Constantinople, Emin at, 382. 

Contract of engagement for E.P.E. 
Expedition, 6, 11. 

Cooking-pots on Aruwimi Eiver, 78. 

Corn supply at Ipoto, 124-128, 140, 

158, 186, 196 ; at Fort Bodo, 238, 
247, 255, 257, 263, 278, 290-292, 
298-302, 329, 332, 371, 486. 

Crabs, 300. 

Cricket match at Suez, 9. 
Crudeli, T., and bacillus, 231. 
Current waters, 384-387. 
Customs of Natives, Upper Congo, 
55;. 

Dancing in Africa, 234, 235 : by 
Mazamboni's men, 370; by Wa- 
huma women, 406. 

Davaine, and microbes, 164. 

Deakes. Mr. 474-476. 

Dean, Mohammed (Nubian) 353. 



Deane, engineer, 31, and Stanley 

Falls Station, 67-68. 
Dessauer Mr., 39. 
Diarrhoea, 40; microbes and, 163, 

378. 
Disease, causation of, 161-179, 231. 
Disinfectants on board s.s. Madura, 

491. 
Doctor, a Manyuema, 187. 
Dogs,of the forest natives, 297 ; Stairs', 

303-307 ; of Wahuma tribe, 375. 
Donkeys, our, 36, 39, 41, 76, 77, 81, 

85, 101, 107, 118, 122, 134, 136, 

139, 142, 186, 192, 280, 282, 409. 
Draughts, Zanzibaris and game of, 

327. 
Dress of women, Upper Congo, 57, 

61 ; of Manyuema women, 344 ; 

of Wahuma, 397. 
Drink, sunstroke and, 456. 
Drums on Aruwimi Eiver, 78. 
Durban, 23. 
Dwarfs, method of marking distance, 

119 ; and game nets, 149, 251 ; 

measurements of, 399 ; habits of, 

397-399, 402. See also Washenzi. 
Dysentery, cases of, 24, 27, 29, 54, 

68, 86, 89, 98, 355, 358, 489, 

496. 
Dyspnoea, 248, 250. 

ftDGINGTON & Co., 340. 

Edwin-Arnold, Mount, 451. 

Egypt, cholera in, viii, 356, 357; 
the Nile Expedition, viii, ix. 

Elephantiasis, disease of, 58. 

Elephant trap, 398. See also 
Zoology. 

Emin Pasha, or "Malleju," 2; Mr. 
Stanley's plans re relief of, 66 ; 
no news of, 191 ; letter, 215, 216 ; 
arrival of, at our camp, 223-233 ; 
house for, at, Fort Bodo, 277, 284 ; 
delay of, 347; letters from, 369, 

370 : 's daughter, see Ferida ; 

at Kavalli, 377-408; and General 
Gordon, 390, 391 ; illness of, 397, 
446, 451, 453, 458 ; weight of, 396 ; 
and measurement of pigmies, 398- 
399 ; Stanley and, 402-405, 439 ; 
people, 406 ; and the sick, 415, 
416 ; accident at Bagamoyo, 503- 
506. 

Emin Pasha Eelief Expedition, con- 
tract of engagement for, 6, 11 ; 
strength of, 19 ; " General Orders" 
for members of, 20, 21 ; advance 



518 



INDEX. 



guard of, 71 ; goods of — left at 

Yarnbuya with Major Bartellot, 

244, 245 ; European provisions 

taken from Yarnbuya, 269-270; 

ages of officers and men, 302 ; 

weapons of, 360 ; tents of, 340, 

341. 
En Avant, s.s., 58. 
Encephalitis, 27, 33. 
Entomology : Butterflies, Upper 

Congo, 62. 
Entozoa (worms), 224, 225, 271. See 

also Guinea worm. 
Equator Station, 56. 
Erysipelas, 184, 193. 
Ethnological. curios on the Aruwimi 

hanks, 78. 
Exhaustion, deaths from, 57. 

Fadel (Nubian), 268. 

Farigi, Khamis, 264. 

Farming operations at Fort Bodo, 
319, 321. 

Farragalah (boy), 435. 

Fathel Mohammed, 58. 

Fathel Mullah, 391, 469. 

Fathel Wadi Hadi, 252. 

Faught, Surgeon-Gen., 26. 

Features of natives, near Yarnbuya, 
82. 

Femoral arterv, man wounded 
through, 80, 81. 

Ferida, Emin's daughter, 374, 378; 
Mohammed Effendi's wife and, 399- 
400, 505. 

Ferns, forest of tree, 220. 

Ferragi (Zanzibari), 280. 

Feruzi AH, 88, 119-121, 488. 

Fetteh, interpreter, 210, 211, 213, 
236 237, 267. 370. 

Fever, cases of, 52, 64, 76, 198, 205, 
207, 220, 225, 230, 238, 249, 255, 
263, 268, 274, 280, 282, 283, 321, 
329, 352, 354, 365, 378, 379, 382, 
391, 401, 414, 445-448, 450-453, 
458, 460, 461, 476, 482, 499, 506- 
508. 

Firth, Surgeon-Major, 508. 

Fish, mode of catching in Aruwimi, 
101; Stairs and, 118; phosphor- 
escence of, 179 : at Fort Bodo, 
257, 270, 271, 285, 289, 291, 325, 
326, 368, 467, 486. 

Florida, s.s., 67. 

Flying Fish, the, 15. 

Forests of the Lower Congo, 36 ; the 
Great Central African, from Yarn- 



buya to Avisibba, 73-96 ; effect of 
traversing, 101 ; an utter wilder- 
ness, 114-115 ; a clearing, 152, 
192, 248; end of, 194, 195; 
gymnastics in, 209 ; natives of, 
and transmission of voice, 211, 
212 ; fruit and beans, 486 ; 497- 
503. 

Fort Bodo, 191, 195-198, 203, 207, 
238-239, 243, 249; life at, 250- 
337; farming at, 319, 321; 
position of, 329 ; Stanley arrives 
at, 334-337. 

Foxes in Egypt, 3. 

France and Perim Island, 11. 

Francqui, M., 39. 

French mission at Kwamouth, 50 : 
at Bukombi, 474, 475 ; in Africa, 
482. 

Fruits in forest, 118, 122, 486. 

Fundi Said, 457. 

Game pits in the forest, 75, 94, 397- 

398; net near Fort Bodo, 251; 

397. 
Gastro-intestinal catarrh, 54, 88, 349, 

355-357, 493. 
Gavira, Chief, see Mpinga. 
Gemmation of bacterium, 173. 
Geologists and Aden, 13. 
Germany and Bagamoyo, 475, 476. 
Giglier Pasha, 8, 9. 
Glave, Mr., 56. 
Goats, 87, 88, 93, 105, 131, 154, 

155, 158, 189, 193, 196, 343. 
Golgi and microbes, 231. 
Gordon, General, relief of, vii, ix, 

120, 212, 290, 360, 365; Emin 

and, 390, 391, 456. 
Grant, 465, 466. 
Grape, the, microbes and, 171. 
Glass fire, near Upoto, 62. 
cloth made by Manyuema, 

157, 220. 
Guardafui Cape, 14. 
Guinea worms, 241, 242, 271, 272, 

330, 331. 
Gymnastics in the forest, 209 ; feat 

by an elephant, 322. 

Hair, dressing of men, Upper Congo,. 

50-51 ; lack of, on faces of natives, 

411. 
Halford and arrow poisons, 296 
Hanamri (boy), 262. 
Hari (Zanzibari), 348, 357, 411, 437, 

463. 



INDEX. 



519 



Hassan, Vita, 374. 

Hassan (Somali boy), 87. 

Hassan-Bakari, 387. 

Hassan Sadallah (Zanzibari), 358, 
360. 

Hassani (cook), 290. 

Hawish Effendi, 227, 228. 

Health, in the Tropics, rules for the 
preservation of, 15. 

Heat apoplexy, 30, 31. 

Heister and arrow poisons, 295. 

Helouan, cholera cases at, 356-357. 

Henry Reed, s.s., 44, 49, 53-60, 67- 
69, 495-496. 

Herodotus and the Mountains of the 
Moon, 396, 427. 

Heron, s.s., 32. 

Hillalah, boy, 236. 

Hippos, 47, 52, 54, 62, 66, 88, 102, 
113. 

Hoffmann and bacteria, 169. 

Holmes, Mr. E. M., and arrow poison 
of the Pigmies, 307, 316-319; 
and description of manioc, 484, 
485. 

Holmwood, Mr., 17. 

Honey in Usambiro,473. 

Hornets' nests, 81, 99, 123, 237, 498, 
499 

Human form and bacteria, the, 175- 
176. 

Hunt Club at Alexandria, the, 3-4. 

Hussey, Dr. 18, 29, 490. 

Huts, native, in Yambuya, 65 ; on 
Aruwimi, 79; near Panga Falls, 
88 ; attempt to burn our, at Ipoto, 
135-136 ; at Kandekore, 348 ; of 
Unyoro, 432; near Albert Ed- 
ward Lake, 443, 445 ; in the forest, 
498. 

Ibrahim Effendi, 409, 410, 421-424, 
454. 

Ibrahim Telbass, 453. 

lbwiri, country of 195. 

Idols on the Congo Eiver, 61 ; ab- 
sence of, 221, 267. 

Ihuru River, 116, 336. 

Ingham, Mr. and Mrs., 34-35. 

Ingram, Mr., 335, 510. 

Inkissi River, 42, 43. 

Inoculation, Prof Touissant and, 177, 
178. 

Insects ; at Ipoto, 139 ; pediculus 
vestimenti, 139 ; baked as food, see 
Condiment-, flies at Fort Bodo, 
273 ; rats, 208, 257, 272, 279 ; flies 



and ulcers, 352; the Pasha and, 388; 

459, 486; mosquitoes, 217-219, 

229. See also, Ants, Ticks, 

Jiggers, &c. 
" Intelligence department " of natives 

of the African forest, 77, 78, 211, 

212. 
Ipoto, Arab settlement of, 116, 123- 

124, 160 ; experiences at, 128-159, 

179-193, 488, 511; summary of 

our food at, 288. 
Irangara Island, 443. 
Irebu village, 56. 
Ismailia, 8. 
Ismailia, Chief, at Ipoto, 124-159, 

179-193 ; 243, 288, 502. 
Itch, 389. 
Ituri River, 116, 117, 209-210, 236, 

237 : fish baskets of, 326 ; 336, 340, 

345, 354. 
Ivory; caravans, 42 ; war-horn, 254. 
trade, Upper Congo, 56 ; tusks 

of, 86 ; in Africa, 139. 
Ivory hunters at Ipoto, 137, 141, 151, 

187, 188, 371, 372. 

Jameson, J. S., 11, 17, 29, 32, 45, 
54, 57, 59, 66-72, 335, 341 ; and 
rear column, 360-365; 394, 507, 
509, 510. 

Jephson, A. J. M., 9, 17, 24, 41, 41 ; 
illness of, 49, 56, 59, 64, 75, 81, 123, 
134, 205, 209, 227, 415, 424-438, 
446, 451 ; and Zanzibaris, 55 ; and 
the Advance, 69, 210, 217 ; the 
march from Yambuya to Avisibba, 
72-90, 94-96 ; the march from Avi- 
sibba to Ugarrowwa's camp, 97- 
109 ; the march from Ugarrowwa's 
to Ipoto, 112-128; and relief of 
Nelson, 129, 133, 488; at Fort 
Bodo, 191, 195-198 ; and Mr. Stan- 
ley's illness, 200-204; blood 
brotherhood with Mazamboni, 213 ; 
letter from, 222 ; arrival of 223- 
224: to accompany Emin, 227; 
good-bye to, 232, 233, 239 ; 287 ; 
delay of, 297, 332, 347; letters 
from, 369, 370; at Kavalli, 374, 
382, 390-410 ; weight of, 396 ; 431 ; 
and Rehani, 419, 420 ; at Kafurro, 
465; conclusion, 510-512. 

Jiggers, 45, 84, 500. 

Jumba, Ali, 237, 251, 252, 262, 265- 
267, 320, 501. 

Junker, Dr., 8, 9, 11 ; and Nepoko 
River, 100. 



520 



INDEX. 



Kabba Kega, King, 213, 214, 216, 

226, 371, 375, 425, 426 ; see also 

Wara Sura. 
Kafurra, 465, 466. 
Kajumba's country. 472. 
Kambola, under chief, 188. 
Kamaroni (Zanzibari), 181, 182. 
Kandekore, camp at 345-370. 
Karagwe, 449, 450, 461, 466. 
Karema, King, 452, 453. 
Kasongo, Tippu Tib at, 361. 
Kassai River, 50, 495. 
Kassasura, King, 472. 
Katari settlement, 448. 
Katonza, Chief, 418, 426. 
Katto, Chief, 370. 
Katwe settlement, 440-442. 
Kavalli, Chief, and village, 215, 216, 

219, 221, 234, 373-408, 410, 420. 
Khamis (Zanzibari), 38, 115, 246, 

247 ; Unyamwezi, 435, 436. 
Khaniisi, Chief, at Ipoto, 124-159, 

189-189, 243 
Khartoum, ix, 10. 
Khedive, s.s. 227, 230, 231. 
Khedive's Orders, the, 226. 
Khedivial Club, Alexandria, 2-3, 7. 
Kibamwanga, 40. 
Kibbo-bora, Chief, 343-345 ; wives 

of, 462, 463. 
Kibori (Nelson's boy), 257. 
Kiengo, 465, 466. 
Kilimani, 194, 241, 247. 
Kilonga Longa, Chief, 155-159, 179, 

181-190, 192, 242-244; men of, 

423, 426, 435, 436. 
Kiryuama, 426. 
Kites, 226, 388. 
Klebs and bacteria, 169, 231. 
Koch, Prof., and diseases of bacterial 

origin, 175. 
Korbash, the, 382. 
Kwamouth, 50, 58. 
Kwa River, 50, 51. 
Kwilu River, 37, 38. 

Lake Shore Camp, 377, 380. 

Lamu, 16, 17. 

Language near Yambnya, 82. 

Latrine for men at Fort Bodo, 272. 

Latsche, Dr., 505. 

Laveran and bacilli, 231. 

Lawson Mount, 451. 

Leaves of various plants formi»g 

Mboga, 486, 487. 
Leeuwenhoek, Dutch naturalist, and 

microbes, 162-163. 



Lenda River, 112, 114, 131 
Leopold, King, and Tippu Tib, 20, 

68; and Emin, 395 ; welcome by, 

514. 
Leopoldville, 44, 493-494. 
Leucocytes, the, 177. 
Lewis, Surgeon, C.B., viii. 
Liebrichts, Lieut., 45, 493. 
Linant, Lieut., 57, 58. 
Linnaeus and microbes, 163. 
Littre, M., and microbes, 164. 
Locusts, 322, 327-328. 
Longoli camp, 246. 
Lukolela Mission Station, 54, 55. 
Lukungu Station, 39, 40. 
Lumani River, 361. 
Lunionzo River, 37. 
Lutete, 41, 42 
Lymphatics, inflammation of the, 

262. 

Mabambi, Chief, 160. 

Mabanti, 247. 

Mabruki, death of, for deserting, 111 ; 

Zanzibari, 150. 
Mabruki, Wadi, 222, 226, 229, 236. 
Mabunga fruit, 121-122, 486. 
Mace and microbes, 231. 
Machonga, or wooden spikes, 74, 80, 

496, 497. 
Mackay's Mission, 453, 470, 473-476, 

481. 
Mackenzie, Mr., of Zanzibar, 18, 285. 
Madura, s.s., 17, 19; rations on 

board, 23 ; sickness, &c, on, 489- 

491. 
Mahdi carriers, desertion of, 232-239 ; 

and guinea-worms, 271, 272, 330- 

331 ; at Kandekore, 346, 355. 
Makabolo, Chief, at Ipoto, 158. 
Malafu (banana wine), 235. See also 

Pombe. 
Malarial fevers, 73, 476-481, 506- 

508. See also Fever. 
Malleju, see Emin Pasha. 
Malonga, 370. 

Maude" Hill, 237 ; Camp, 345. 
Mangola River, 36. 
Manioc, 47 ; at Yambuya, QQ, 74, 75, 

379-380 ; description of, 484-485, 

490. 
Manyuema (ivory hunters), from 

Lenda River, 114; at Ipoto, 124- 

159, 183-193, 242-244 ; and grass 

cloth, 157, 220; and Bartellot, 

364; carriers, 340, 344; women, 

344 ; at Kandekore, 346-350, 366, 



INDEX. 



521 



368 ; at Kavalli, 379 ; men and 

women, 463. See also Kilonga 

Longa, Ugarrowiva, &c. 
Marco, merchant, 374, 375. 
Marsh-miasm, 40. 
Marzouki (cook), 300. 
Massage, practised by Manyuema, 

188 ; Zanzibaris and, 351. 
Massoudi, Zanzibari, 236. 
Massowab, the Italians at, 12. 
Mataddi, 32-34, 492-493. 
Matako (brass rods), 50, 51, 52. 
Maxim gun, our, 110, 359, 459. 
Mazamboni, Chief, 213, 234, 235, 

370-372, 396, 410, 416, 422, 423. 
Mbaruku (Zanzibari), 95, 121, 209. 
Mboga, leaves of pepper plant, &c, 

140, 142, 186, 255, 256, 333, 426 ; 

486-487. 
Meat of E.P.R. Expedition, 486. 
Medicine-man at Ipoto, the, 187-188. 
Melindwa's country, 418. 
Merure Lake, 464. 
Metammeh, ix, 10, 456. 
Meteorology. Rain in Red Sea, 11, 

14 ; heavy rains, 37, 38, 79-81, 84- 

86, 96, 99, 107, 108, 123, 142,151, 

184, 192, 205, 206, 209, 221, 240, 

L'52, 267, 270, 276, 292, 331, 366, 

416, 417, 431; fog, 102; hail, 

321 ; a cold day in Africa, 467. 
Microbes, a study of, 161-179, 231. 
Milk, microbes and, 179. 
Mimosa bush, 228. 
Miquel, M., and microbes, 171. 
Mirambo, King, 473. 
Missionaries, at Mombasa, 17. 
Mission Stations at Msalala, 470, 

474-476 ; English, in Africa, 482. 

See also French mission stations. 
Mkiyo, Lake of, 440-443. 
Mohambey Station, 8. 
Mohammed (servant), 7-8 ; (Nubian), 

268, 269. 
Mohammed Doud, 10-11, 18. 
Mohammed Effendi, wile of, 399- 

400, 505. 
Mohammedans, the Somalis are, 12. 
Mohoga, see Manioc. 
Mombasa, 17. 
Monbuttu tribe (not the dwarfs), 

396 ; and circumcision, 400-401. 
Moon, Manyuema and the new, 185. 
Morabo (Zanzibari), 119, 213. 
Morrison, Dr., of Suez, 9. 
Mountains of the Moon, 217, 220, 

233, 396. See also liuuenzori. 



Mpinga, Chief, 215, 217, 234, 235, 

372, 394, 409, 410. 
Mpoko River, 40-41 ; village of, 46. 
Mposo, 34 ; river, 34. 
Mrima, suicide of> 376. 
Msalala, 470-476. 
Msongari (Zanzibari), 280-282. 
Mswa Station, 222, 223, 233, 369, 

370. 
Mswata, village of, 47-50. 
Mtagata, hot springs at, 461-462. 
Muero Lake, 466. 
Muftah (boy), 140, 243, 257, 277, 

283, 285, 286, 290-292, 297, 325- 

327, 414, 433, 438, 439, 497, 503. 
Mugwye's village, 86-89. 
Muini Pembi (Zanzibari), 130, 144. 
Muini Soumai, 363. 
Miiller, and microbes, 163. 
Murabo, 429. 
Musical instruments of the Balegga, 

219, 220. 
Muta Nzige Lake, see Albert 

Nyanza. 
Mwanga, King, 452. 

Nageli and microbes, 164, 178. 

Native marker, near Lutete, 42. 

Natives near Mugwye's, 84. 

Natives of the Plains, weapons, &c, 
of, 219. 

Navarino, s.s., 9, 12. 

Negro, the typical, 10, 12. 

Nelson, Captain, 9, 14, 17, 40 ; down 
with fever, 43, 49, 54, 82, 148, 
153-5, 161, 205, 255, 268, 292, 
297, 359, 378, 415, 446, 458; ill 
with ulcers, 112, 142; with ad- 
vance guard, 72, 77, 79, 87-89, 91 ; 
fight at Avisibba, 91-94 ; lost in 
the forest, 95-96 ; the march from 
Avisibba toll garrowwa's camp, 97- 
110, 114 ; starvation camp, 116- 
117, 502 ; relief of, 128-133 ; ex- 
periences at Ipoto, 135-159, 179- 

193, 488; weight of, 150, 154, 
276, 327, 396, 417 ; and causation 
of disease, 161-162 ; at Fort Bodo, 

194, 207, 238-239, 249, 253 ; 298- 
338 ; as cook, 339 ; at Kandekore, 
346-370; at Kavalli, 377, 381, 
383-410; and Rehan, 418-420; 
and Semliki River, 427-432 ; 456 ; 
conclusion, 510-512. 

Nepoko River, 100. 
New Caledonia, poisoned arrows in, 
296. 



522 



INDEX. 



Ngalyema, Chief, 44. 

Ngombe, 55. 

Nieman, K.A., s.s., 31. 

Nile Expedition, the, viii-ix, 120, 
212 ; cooks in Camel Corps, 401- 
402 ; and fever in, 45G ; waters of 
River, 386. 

Nkilama, 43. 

Nubiambari (Zanzibari), 228, 229. 

Nubian soldiers, our, 9, 11, 19, 20 ; 
contrast with the Somalis, 12 ; 
vaccination of, 13 ; and smallpox, 
23, 28; and rations, 39; 68, 80, 
86; a— wounded, 342-343; 377, 
381, 452, 495, 501. 

Nutritive comforts taken from Yam- 
buya, 206. 

Nyama-Gazani, camp at, 441. 

Nyangin, 42. 

Nyanza, s.s., 227, 231. 

Odoues, Arabs and powerful, 137; of 
African tribes, Emin and, 409. 

Omar, Zanzibari chief, 102, 458. 

Omar, Nubian chief, 406-407. 

O'Nial, Surgeon-General, 4, 5. 

Ophthalmia, 459-461, 482. 

Orchids, 59, 60. 

Orchilla weed, 59. 

"Orders" issued by Mr. Stanley, 20- 
21, 29. 

Oriental, s.s., 11, 17, 489. 

Ornaments, &c, Upper Congo, 61 ; of 
Wahuma tribe, 375. 

Ornithology, the Pasha and, 388 ; 
pigeons, 47 ; partridges, 17 ; birds 
of Upper Congo, 62 ; fowls in 
Africa, 80, 83, 90, 101, 180 ; water- 
fowl, 83 ; hornbill, 84 ; doves, 85, 
255 ; laurie bird, 85 ; guinea fowl, 
113, 218, 371 ; hawk, 140 ; a bird 
that worries cattle, 216, 217 ; stork, 
300, 444; plover, 300; weaver 
bird, 328 ; herons, ducks, &C, 444. 

Osmani (Zanzibari), 142 ; Wadi, 246, 
247 ; (boy), 325. 

Ovum, the, 165-166. 

Oyster shells at Upoto, 61. 

Palaballa, 34-35. 

Panga Falls, 87. 

Papyrus, 442, 455, 461. 

Pare, A., and arrow poisons, 295. 

Pari, Chief Hamis, 266, 282-283. 

Parke, Dr. T. H., experiences in Egypt 
and with the Nile Expedition, 
see Introduction ; appointed Medi- 



cal Officer to E.P.R. Expedition, 
2-8; at Suez, 9; and Mohammed 
Doud, 10-11 ; vaccinalion of the 
members of Expedition, 13-17, 22- 
29 ; reading the sextant, 14 ; rules 
for the preservation of health, 15, 
16 ; introduced to Tippu Tib, 18 ; 
at Zanzibar, 17-19 ; servants, 22 ; 
baggage, 30, 34; at the Kwilu 
River, 37-38 ; and loss of rifles, 40 ; 
disaster at Mpoko River, 41 ; and 
medicines, 42; down with fever, 
43-46, 48, 51, 52, 64, 73, 117, 118, 
227, 230, 235, 270, 280, 290, 329, 
352-354, 414, 438, 451, 457, 466, 
506-509 ; and s.s. Stanley, 45 ; on 
board Henry Reed, 53, 54, 56 ; at 
Yambuya, 65-73 ; march through 
the forest from Yambuya to Avi- 
sibba, 74-90 ; fight at Avisibba, 
91-94 ; lost in the forest, 95-96 ; 
the march from Avisibba to Ugar- 
rowwa's camp, 97-109 ; the march 
from Ugarrowwa's to Ipoto, 112- 
124; experiences at Ipoto, 128- 
159, 179-193, 488; watch pre- 
sented by Mr. Stanley, 129, 
502, 503; letters from Stanley, 
130-131 ; letter to Stanley, 135 ; 
weight of, 150, 276, 327, 396, 
417 ; illness of, J 53-155, 161 ; and 
bacteriology, 161-179; at Fort 
Bodo, 194-207 ; and Mr. Stanley's 
illness, 198-209 ; and castor oil 
plant, 199-200 : and Emin Pasha, 
222, 225; and thought reading, 
227; return to Fort Bodo, 232- 
239; return to Ipoto, 240-244; 
Mr. Stanley's entry in note-book, 
244-6; and piamy woman, 243, 
247, 248, 276, 277, 284, 287-292, 
300-307, 313, 323-325, 365, 398, 
409, 446, 463-4 ; life at Fort Bodo, 
249-337 ; and arrow poison of the 
pigmies, 308-319 ; and Stairs' dog, 
303-307; at Kandekore, 346-370; 
and cholera in Egypt, 356-357; 
at Kavalli, 373-408 ; and measure- 
ment of pigmies, 398-9 ; and Mr. 
Stanley's illness, 411-417 : and 
Rehan, 418-420; and blood brother- 
hood with Bakamuggar, 429, 430 
purchases from Mr. Mackay, 481 
and accident to Emin, 504-506 
conclusion, 509-514. 

Parker, Bishop, 476. 

Paronychia, 255. 



INDEX. 



523 



Pasteur, M., and microbes, 171, 178, 

385. 
Peace, mission steamer, 44, 49, 54- 

63, 65, 68. 
Peas, onions, beans, &c, 262, 278, 

284, 297, 300. 
Pepper-pods, 263. 
Perim Island, 11. 
Peritonitis, 34. 
Phagocytes, 176. 
Phrynium ramosissimum, 434. 
Pigmies, the arrow poison of, 308- 

319. See also Washenzi. 
Pineapples, 52. 
Pisgah, Mount, 209, 210, 345 ; hostile 

natives near, 210-213. 
Pistia stratiotes, 326, 368. 
Plant, a, to keep off mosquitoes, 218. 
Plant, leaves of a, and narcotic effect 

on fish, 325, 326. 
, salt extracted from a water, 

326, 368. 
Plantains, 64, 96, 98, 104, 106 ; 113, 

195, 196, 483-484 ; flour, 109. 
Pneumonia cases, 22, 29, 34, 432, 445. 

489. 
Poison for arrows, preparation of, 

300-307 ; paper on, 308-319. 
Poisoned wounds, M. Pochard and, 

294-296. 
Pombe (banana wine), 332, 433, 439, 

470. 
Ponta da Lenha, 31, 32. 
Port Elizabeth, 24. 
Potato, varieties of, 291, 486. 
" Poteen," manufactured by Emin's 

people, 232, 376, 388, 389. 
Presents, African chiefs and, 57, 138, 
Preservation of health in the tropics, 

rules for the, 15. 
Provisions, European, 486, 499 ; 

taken from Yambuya, 269-270, 

339; supplied us at lpoto. 288. 
Ptomaines, 174, 177, 231. 
Pumpkins, at Fort Bodo, 273, 278, 

284 ; water melons, 275, 434. 



Rainmaker, the, in Africa, 221, 267. 
Rain-water, 384, 385. 
Ramadan, fast of, 55, 56, 238. 
Bandy, Mr. Stanley's fox terrier, 27, 

113. 
Rashid, Chief, 116, 127, 369, 370, 

471. 
Ras Sufsafeh, 9. 
Rear column, letters to, 197, 232 : 



wreck of, 335-339 ; Bonny 's ac- 
count of, 360-367. 

Red Sea, 11, 14. 

Rehan (Zanzibari), 119, 183 ; execu- 
tion of, 418-420. 

Rejaf Station, 369. 

Reproduction of bacterium, the, 173, 

Reptiles, 486 ; crocodiles, 54, 88, 218, 
237, 298 ; snake at Fort Bodo, 276. 

Rice crop at Fort Bodo, 322, 327-328. 

Richalman, Captain, 505. 

Richards, Mr. and Mrs., 37. 

Roads at Fort Bodo, 196 ; near Lake 
Albert, 232. 

Robin, Chas., and microbes, 164. 

Rochard, M., and wounds, 29±-296. 

Royle, Mr. Chas., 9. 

Ruanda territory, 449, 470. 

Kukoki River, 444. 

Rushdi Effendi, 440. 

Ruta Nzige Lake, see Albert Ed- 
ward Nyanza. 

Ruwenzori, 395, 396, 417, 423, 427, 
432, 433, 439. See also Moun- 
tains of the Moon. 

Rwizi River, 455. 



Saadi (Zanzibari), 107. 

Saat Tato, the hunter, 96, 222, 226, 

229, 429. 
Sadi, Manyuema chief, 405. 
Sali, boy, 201, 397. 
Salim, Tippu Tib's brother-in-law, 

38, 490. 
Salt, 210 ; extracted from a water 

plant, 326, 368 ; in Lake Mkiyo, 

440-443. 
Sandals of Manyuema, 186, 187. 
Sanford expedition, 49, 56. 
Sangarameni, Chief, at lpoto, 124- 

159, 180-189, 243. 
Sanitation, natives on the Aruwimi 

banks and, 76-77. 
Saraboko (Zanzibari), 149. 
Schmidt Herr, 505. 
Sedillot and microbes, 164. 
Segmentation of bacterium, the, 173. 
Selim Bey, 392, 420. 
Semliki River, 220, 424, 426 : vallev, 

427 ; crossing the, 429-431. 
Serpa Pinto, s.s., 31. 
Sesame oil, 378. 
Sextant, reading the, 14. 
Sexton, Dr. W. H., grave of, 31. 
Shaban Majera, 472. 
Shark, 16. 



524 



INDEX, 



Shark's Point, 32. 

Shepherd, Capt., 16, 17. 

Sherif, boy, 146, 149, 152, 179, 180, 
243. 

Shukri Agha, 392, 410, 421, 425. 

Shumari, Bin, 263. 

Simon's Bay, 25. 

Slave trade in Africa, 139. 

Slippers made by Emin's people, 
225 

Small,' Dr., 37,42. 

Smallpox on board the Oriental, 
13-18, 23, 489. 

Smith, Mr. B., of the Eastern Tele- 
graph Co., 7. 

Smith, Sir Chas. Euan, 476, 506. 

Somalis, our contingent of, 2, 13; 
compared to the Nubians, 12 ; and 
smallpox, 23, 28 ; and swimming, 
38 ; down with fever, 40 ; 57, 59, 
71, 72 ; of rear column, 364, 452, 
494, 495, 501, 502. 

Sorcery in Africa, 470, 471. 

Soudanese, the, 19-20, 38, 41, 42, 
43, 47, 57, 59, 71-72, 89, 346, 
364. 

Spear wounds, 68, 89, 126, 156. 

Speke, 465, 466. 

Spirillum, microbes, 167, 169. 

Sporulation of bacterium, 173. 

Springs, hot, 417, 438 ; at Mtagata, 
461-462. 

Stagnant waters, 384-387. 

Stairs, Lieut., 9, 14, 15, 17, 33, 
62, 87; and Zanzibaris, 55; blood 
brotherhood at Upoto, 60 ; from 
Yambuya to Avisibba, 69-90; 
wounded at Avisibba, 91-94; con- 
dition of, 98, 103 ; the march from 
Ugarrowwa's to Ipoto, 112-129;' 
arrival at lpoto, 190-193, 488 ; the 
march to Fort Bodo, 193-197, 
206, 238, 239 ; life at Fort Bodo, 
249-337; weight of, 276, 327; 
down with fever, 286, 328, 329, 
427-437, 452, 461, 466, 496 ; 
extraction of the arrow-head from, 
287, 292-299, 500, 501 ; do?, 
303-307 ; and the true north, 329 ; 
at Kandekore, 346-370; at Ka- 
valli, 378, 383, 390-408, 416 ; and 
Rehan, 418, 420; and Ruwenzori, 
438-439, 456; conclusion, 510- 
512. 

Stanley, H. M., ix; and Somalis, 
2,; engages Surgeon Parke for 
Relief Expedition, 3-7 ; and the 



first Irishman to cross Africa, 8; 
at Suez, 9 ; at Zanzibar, 17 ; 
" General Orders " issued by, 20, 
21 ; ill with cramp, &c, 36 ; en- 
forces a stricter d scipline, 38, 39; 
on board the Peace, 50-54; mean- 
ing of "Bula Matari," 61; plans 
of, re Emin's relief, 66, 70; the 
march from Yambuya to Avisibba, 
71-90; at Avisibba, 91-95; the 
march from Avisibba to Ugar- 
rowwa's Camp, 96-111 ; illness of, 
104, 105, 127, at Fort Bodo, 198- 
209 ; 411-417, 424, 428, 430, 431, 
434, 437, 446, 447, 461, 464 ; from 
Ugarrowwa's to Ipoto, 113-127 ; 
agreement with the Manyuema 
at Ipoto, 128, 129, 138, 139, 183 ; 
letters to Dr. Parke, 130, 131, 145 ; 
letter to Jephson, 134; at Fort 
Bodo, 191, 195-198; and Zanzi- 
baris, 211 ; Emin's letter to, 216 ; 
and Em in, 224, 439 ; return to 
Fort Bodo, 231-239, 334-340; 
return to Ipoto, 240-246 ; waiting 
for, 299, 332 ; Starvation Camp, 
345; third march to Lake Albert, 
347, news from Jephson, 369, 
371; at Kavalli, 373-408; weight of 
396, 417 ; and Mohammed Etiendi, 
399,400; Rehan, 418-420; blood 
brotherhood with Prince of Ankori, 
459; and presentation of watch 
to Dr. Parke, 502-503; and Dr. 
Parke's illness, 506 ; conclusion, 
512-514. 

Stanley, s.s., 44, 45, 49-56, 65-68, 
244, 339, 362. 

Stanley Falls Station, Tippu Tib and, 
67-68, 361, 364; Kilonga Longa 
and, 183. 

Stanley Pool, 39 : fever at, 480; the 
march to, 493. 

Staphylococcus, microbes, 169. 

Starvation Camp, Nelson's, 117, 511, 
No. 2, 119 ; Stanley's, 345. 

Starvation, deaths from, 136, 158, 
185, 358. 

Stationary waters, 384-387. 

Stephenson, Gen. Sir Fred., 4, 5. 

Streptococcus microbes, 169. 

Suakim, 11. 

Sub-acute gastritis, Mr. Stanley and, 
198-209, 411-417. 

Suez, 8-11. 

Suez Canal, Aden and the, 13. 

Suliman Effendi, 470. 



INDEX. 



525 



Summary of Dr. Parke's professional 

experiences, 487-504. 
Sunstroke, 33, 58, 196, 197, 455, 457, 

477, 489, 496. 
Superstition in Africa, 301, 470,471. 
Synovitis, Zanzibaris and, 351. 
Syphilis, 401. 

Tabloid system of medicines, 357, 
358. 

Taenia mediocanellata, 271. 

Tamarind trees, 218. 

Teeth of Zanzibaris, 275, 491. 

Tel Basta, near Zagazig, 8. 

Temperature, 29, 30, 32, 34, and bac- 
teria, 172-173 ; at Fort Bodo, 299 ; 
456. 

Tents of expedition, 340, 341. 

Tetanus, deaths from, 97, 98, 99, 
296, 301, 304, 501. 

' The Times ' of April 27, 1886,. 216. 

Thought reading experiments, 227. 

Thuret and microbes, 163-164. 

Ticks, 84, 88, 126, 186, 499, 500. 

Tippu Tib, introduction to, 18 ; and 
followers, 19-21, 38; and h»rem, 
53, 54, 56, 58 ; and carriers, 66, 
360-365; and Stanley Falls Sta- 
tion, 67 ; raid of people, 74 ; and 
followers on board s.s. Madura, 
490-491 ; on board Henry Reed, 
494-496. 

Tobacco cultivation, 50, 106, 151, 
210, 255, 258, 262, 348. 

Tornado, in the forest, 79 ; at Ipoto, 
142, 158 ; at Fort Bodo, 263, 366. 

Tore Hills, 443-448. 

Touissant, Prof., and microbes, 177- 
178. 

Trap for elephants, dwarfs', 398. 

Trees in the Central African forest, 
75, 76. 

Troup, Mr. J. R., 69, 241, 335, 361- 
365, 510. 

Tun-dish, a, 83. 

Uganda, insurrection in, 404, 405, 
452, 453. 

Ugarrowwa, Chief, 103, 104 ; and 
men, 106 ; visit to camp of, 108- 
109 ; sick left with, 110 ; sends us 
three deserters, 111; work of de- 
solation, 112 ; 197, 238, 501, 502. 

Uhopo, 426. 

Ulcers, 22, 60, 88, 100, 112, 113, 139, 
180, 185, 196, 207-209, 238, 243, 



256, 262, 300, 331, 336, 344, 347, 

349-355, 369, 389, 390, 502. 
Uledi, Chief, 31, 41, 127, 130, 131, 

137, 192, 193, 230, 236, 349, 358, 

429. 
Uledi Saadi, 435. 
Ulya (Zanzibari), 390. 
Umari, Chief, 116, 181-184, 189, 

382. 
Unyampaka, 443, 447. 
Unyoro, King of, see Kabba Rega. 
Upoto, 60, 61. 
Uranga village, 56. 
Urigi, Lak?, 467. 
Usambiro, 472, 474, 481. 
Usinde village, 55. 
Usongora, 443 ; Lake, 417. 
Usui, Kino; f, 472. 
Usukuma, 473. 

Vaccination" of all the members ot 

the expedition, 13-17, 22-29, 489- 

490. 
Van Gele, Capt., 56. 
Vegetable forms, microbes and, 164. 
Venomous wounds, Rochard and, 294. 
Vermin, at Ipoto, 126, 146, 151, 219. 

See also Insects. 
Victoria Nyanza., 470-475. 
Villages on banks of Aruwimi, 83. 
Village, new, at Ipoto, 152-153. 
Virulent wounds, M. Pochard aud, 

294. 
Vise, Lieut. Howard, 81. 
Vivisection, Stair's doii, effect of arrow 

poison on, 304-307. 
Vombo, 39. 



Waganda, 449, 452. 

Wahuma tribe, 216, 217, 220, 374, 

375, 3b3 ; dress of, 397 ; dress of 

women, 406 ; guides, 445. 
Wakefield, Rev. Mr., 17. 
Walker, Mr., 26, 31, 32, 49, 335, 510. 
Wambutri (dwarfs), wives of, 323. 

See Washenzi. 
Wanyamwezi, 458, 473. 
Wara Sura, Kabba Resja's men, 213, 

214, 428-430, 434, 440, 443-448. 
Ward, Mr., 49, 50, 53, 69, 241, 335, 

361-365, 510. 
Waregga tribe, 383. 
War office, the, 4. 
Washenzi, the, 139, 145, 146 ; village 

of, 195; and castor oil plant, 199; 

near Fort Bodo, 251, 252, 268, 



526 



INDEX. 



269 ; camping-ground of, 321, 322 ; 

measurement of, 397-399, 402. 
Wasongora, the, and bananas, 300 ; 

wives of, 323. 
Water-supply at Kavalli, 378, 383. 
Waters, division of different, 384- 

387, 499. 
Water-tanks at Aden, 13. 
Wedding festival in Equatoria, a, 401. 
Windermere, Lake, 464, 465. 
Wissman, Major, 503. 
Wood, ironwood, 48. 
Wooden rest for neck of natives, 

Upper Congo, 51. 
spikes of natives, 74, 80, 496, 

497. 
■ button in lips of Bavira 

women, 388. 
Worms, tape and round, 224-225, 

271 ; in a fish, 285. See also 

Entozoa. 
Wounds, division of, 294-296. 

Yakouti (Zanzibari), 334. 

Yambuya, 64-72 ; rear column at, 
73,335-341; list of nutritive com- 
forts taken from, 206 ; return to, 
238-241, 244 ; goods left at, with 
Major Bartellot, 244-245 ; pro- 
visions taken from, 269-270; 
Bonny's account of rear column 
at, 360-367 ; deaths at, 379-380 ; 
Stairs at, 496. 

"Yellow bellies" (Emin's people), 
401, 454. 

Yusuf Effendi, 410, 446. 

Zagazig, 8. 

Zanzibar, 17-19 ; Sultan of, 285. 
Zanzibaris, our, 10, 19-20, 44 ; and 
small-pox, 23-24, 28; and the 



invalids, 33 ; and swimming, 38 ; 
and Soudanese, 42 ; and Lower 
Congo, 47 ; and Stairs, 55 ; food 
of, 56, 59 ; advance guard, 71-72 ; 
mode of carrying loads, 73 ; deser- 
tions of, 82, 105, 108 ; and fowls, 
83-84 ; without food, 85 ; murder 
of a, 90 ; and the wet weather, 96 ; 
excuses of, 97 ; strange behaviour 
of, 99-100 ; work of, 102-103 ; a 
fact, 114 ; recklessness of, 115 ; 
a — chief, 127 ; and relief of Nel- 
son, 129, 133 ; at Ipoto, 136, 140, 
156, 157, 181-183, 188, 189, 197 ; 
lack of good-nature among, 185- 
186, 236-237, 354 ; and castor-oil 
plant, 199-200 ; at Fort Bodo, 203, 
204 ; and Emin's arrival, 223 ; 
looiing cf, 228, 229 ; and walking, 
234; at Fort Bodo, 251-327; of 
rear column, 335-339, 360-367; 
dirty habits of, 343, 345, 350 ; at 
Kandekore, 346-350; and medi- 
cine, 369; at Kavalli, 375-396; 
and cooking, 402 ; Omar and, 407 ; 
and Wara Sura, 430 ; and Queen 
Victoria, 432 ; 455, 457, 460, 469, 
487-489, 493 ; and manioc, 494 ; 
and food, 500; 501-503, 512. 
Zoology : — Gazelle, 17 ; elephants, 
41-42, 47, 51, 54, 62, 83, 86, 112, 

113, 117, 118, 121, 152, 218, 240, 
254, 276, 284, 291, 298, 305, 320, 
328, 330, 445, 495 : antelopes, 41, 

114, 218, 226, 444; buffalo, 47, 
54, 218, 226, 368 ; monkeys, 59, 
62, 292 ; lemur, 149 : kudu, a, 222 ; 
springboks, 222 ; sheep, 237, 262 ; 
cows, 237 ; pig, 260 ; leopard, 368 ; 
hyaenas, 417, 420 ; giraffes, 444 ; 
rhinoceros, 462 ; zebra, 472. 



LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STANFORD STREET 
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